Now or Never
by FairyWhisper
Summary: Jack Frost never thought much about his powers individually, but when the wind leaves him one night he learns one very important lesson: buildings are quite solid. On top of that, Pitch has a friend and children are falling into strange comas. This was not how Jack wanted to start his winter fun. Post movie. Jack/OC.
1. Chapter 1: How to Properly Land

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or the characters associated with it. I merely own my strange OC's.**

* * *

A soft laugh escaped the lips of a pale boy perched atop a street light as he watched a random stranger slip on some ice causing all the boxes they were holding to fly into the air behind them. The boys ice blue eyes scanned the streets, a small smirk playing across his lips, as the temperature began to drop and a few more areas became frozen over with a light layer of ice. He stood up, running a hand through his white hair only to have it fall back into his eyes, and jumped off of the street light to land gracefully on his tip toes on the sidewalk. He wore no shoes, but the layer of ice beneath his feet didn't seem to bother him as he spun his sheppard hook staff in a twirl. He shoved a hand into the pocket on his frosted over blue hoodie before dragging the end of his staff along the ground, more ice seemingly appearing from no where.

The boy hummed to himself as he glanced at the darkening sky above him, tapping his index finger to his bottom lip in thought. He leapt into the air, floating up above the trees and looking at the small town he was currently occupying before a small smile crept onto his lips.

"How about the kind Jack Frost leaves you kids with a snow day tomorrow, hm?" He spoke to no one before holding his staff up into the air, a blue light briefly showing from the tip of the hook before shooting into the sky. Small cotton puff balls began to descend from the sky onto the ground. He chuckled and reached his hand out, capturing one of the small snowflakes on his finger tip before softly blowing on it to allow it to join it's siblings. Laying his staff against his shoulder he looked up to the sky.

"All right Wind! Take me home!" He yelled to the sky before a strong gust of wind suddenly lifted him high up into the sky guiding him to his 'home'.

Jack had never really thought about how when he spoke to the wind it knew to come to him. When he bounced around through towns, flying was a word for it, but that felt different than when he called to the wind and was lifted by it to extreme heights. He knew he was controlling the wind, but at times Jack felt like there had been another presence with him as he flew over continents bringing winter to the children who joyfully accepted his gifts. He never once fully accepted the thought that when he called out to the wind that there must have been someone who was accepting his call. It was just a weird thought that there was someone out there powering something that he himself was controlling.

That night, however, Jack could feel that something was off. He wasn't nearly as fast as he usually would be and there were brief instances where he would lose altitude. He paused mid-flight and hovered in the air, looking around curiously as soft whispers began dancing around him. He could barely hear them and because of that he had no idea what they were saying.

He spun around, constantly looking for the owner of the soft voice that he felt deep down was trying to reach him. Was it a call for help? Perhaps a child really needed him right now, but the connect between them was like static on a radio.

"Who's there?" He cried out, clutching his staff tighter, and he waited for an answer. His peripheral vision suddenly caught something moving closer to him, and he turned just in time to duck as a very familiar looking dark horse ran at him. He instinctively swung his staff, shattering the horse into dark sand with a bolt of ice.

"A nightmare?" He gasped in recognition as he looked around again. It had been a year since Pitch's last appearance, was he really attacking so soon after being defeated. Jack had assumed that the creepy, dark man would need at least a couple of years to regain his powers. How in the world had the Nightmare King returned so quickly? He would definitely need to get in contact with North and the others, and soon. He prepared himself to change course and head to the North Pole when he heard it. A soft cry of pain and three words that made his heart clench in fear.

'_I'm sorry Jack.'_

He had absolutely no idea whose soft, feminine voice it was. Nor did he have a chance to care, because the moment he heard those three words the wind holding him in his place left from under him. He yelped in surprise and he tried everything in his power to stay afloat. No matter what he tried, he couldn't fly. Gravity took hold of his lithe form, and plummeting down to the Earth he went. As realization that he had no chance of stopping the fall came to him, a scream escaped his lips and prayed to the Man in the Moon that his fall wouldn't be as painful as he expected it was going to be.

* * *

Though it had taken a moment for him to reach the ground as high as Jack as been, he felt like it had been way to short of a fall. It was when Jack landed with a sickening thud through someone's roof that he managed to form a simple question among all the pain his brain was screaming about coming from his body.

Why was it non-believing humans were like ghosts to his body, but an inanimate building was completely and utterly solid?

There were some perks to being immortal at least. He could feel that his body was very nicely bruised, but luckily nothing broke. He didn't suppose he had been impaled by any of the pieces of the nice roof he just landed through, so that was always a plus. He didn't seem capable of breathing at the moment but it wasn't as if he would die from not breathing; so no worries there. He felt himself groan as he tried to remember how to move any of his limbs. He also became very aware of the terrified scream that was coming from somewhere around him. Was it him screaming? No, he prayed he didn't scream that…girly sounding. He managed to open his eyes to stare up into the sky, the moon shining dimly in the distance. It was then he felt something warm on his cheeks, a voice practically screaming questions at him that seemed like gibberish more than English. Maybe his ears broke instead of his bones? His brain was having a hard time catching up with his surroundings.

"Are….there…" He blinked his eyes a few times, a girl appearing over top of him with her hands on his cheeks. Her green eyes shined with worry and fear, and she was speaking to him. Finally, his ears managed to catch the entire sentence she had been repeating to him.

"Are you okay? Oh god what if he's dead? No he can't be dead he's looking at me. You're looking at me! Are you ok?" Jack resisted the urge to chuckle at how badly she was panicking. Taking in a sharp breath, he slowly sat up, wincing as a sharp pain shook through his body from the action. The girl backed away from him, watching to make sure he didn't just die right then and there; especially after he finally started moving.

She was mentally freaking out. Bad. Here she was getting ready for bed, minding her own business, when all of the sudden this loud boom filled her ears. Let's not forget the fact that her roof nearly just buried her in a pile of wood and debris. If she had been just a few more feet to the right of her original standing place she would be dead right now.

"I'm…" The boy started to say before he coughed some. He shook his head and rolled his shoulders before looking at her. She opened her mouth to ask something but her words never came as his bright blue eyes locked onto her green ones. He chuckled at the sight of her staring at him, her mouth gapping open, before finishing his statement he had started.

"I'm okay, sorry for crash landing on your house…" It was then that a thought occurred to him. He looked her over, the wheels in his head turning (he didn't realize that she herself was having the same mental dilemma as he was-although it was for different reasons). Her hair was shoulder length and wavy, a honey blonde color that accented her forest green eyes that were hidden behind a pair round rimmed glasses. She was wearing a long night shirt, no pants, and looked to be about his age. He had to admit, she wasn't the most beautiful girl he had seen in his three-hundred years of existing, but she was actually quite cute with that modest type of look. His mind then came to a sharp halt as he realized the important issue.

She looked to be his age.

"Wait." He all but whispered, blinking as the clouded over look in her eyes disappeared and she look at him. "Can you see me?"

She looked at him confused for a long moment. Of course she could see him. How could she not see the boy who just crash landed through her roof and…lived?

"How the hell did you just survive that fall!?" She all but screamed at him. He flinched back, not expecting her shouting at him to be the answer he was seeking. He supposed it was an answer none-the-less.

"Well…actually…that's because I'm-" He began but was abruptly cut off by her flailing her arms up into the air and going on a rant. She stood up and started pacing back in forth on the part of the floor that wasn't covered in roof.

"A ghost doesn't bust open the roof when it falls through it! It just falls through the roof! He can't be human though because he's still alive-and moving! He's moving like he just fell off a bed or something! He's talking to me and wait!" She suddenly slapped her self on the face. Hard. Jack winced at the loud pop that filled the room followed by a short moment a silence. Soft curses start flying from her mouth after a moment.

"Damn that hurt! What the hell did I do that for?" She groaned and looked at Jack, suddenly pointing at him. "You're not a dream, as I have so boldly just found out, so who in the hell are you?!" Jack couldn't help from smiling at her freaked out rambling. He had never had someone so old see him before. She seemed like she was an easy one to mess with mentally on top of that.

Jack stood up, found his staff among the debris, turned towards her and did a deep bow.

"Why hello madam, Jack Frost at your service." He straightened up, a smirk playing on his lips, and winked at her as he leaned against his staff.

* * *

Jack couldn't help the amused smirk playing across his lips as he sat on the kitchen counter. One of his feet rested on the edge of the counter, holding his leg up to his chest, while his other leg hung in the air freely. His staff rested against the counter beside him. He shifted some, trying to get more comfortable, and winced as another pain shot through his body. He really had messed up his body from that fall. It was going to be at least a week before he started feeling better. That was one thing he was sure of.

"Okay, so let's go over this one more time." The honey blonde girl from before was sitting at the table, her forehead against the palm of her hand and her eyes closed as she desperately tried to grasp the situation that Jack had just explained to her. "You're Jack Frost, the spirit of winter. You were just doing your job, flying around putting snow in places, when you were attacked by a horse made by the boogeyman-"

"Pitch Black if you want to call him by his other name."

"-and then you heard someone whisper they were sorry to you before you suddenly lost your ability to fly and crash landed on my roof." She ignored his interruption and just kept going with her statement. He chuckled and nodded.

"Yup, though there's more to the story than I've originally told you, but I figured I'd let you grasp this all a little at a time. You look like you're brain is about to explode or something." He shrugged and hopped off the counter, making himself busy with suddenly digging through her cabinets and asking what several things were that he was unfamiliar with. She groaned loudly and slammed her head down onto the table. Hard.

"I always believed in all these magical things happening, but I never expected them to just land in my house! Well at least it wasn't the Boogeyman himself-

"Pitch."

"-because this night might have ended with a baseball bat and me setting fire to the damn house." Jack laughed at her.

"I like you. You seem like fun." He hopped into the air and floated, laying back with his arms behind his head and he hovered above the table.

"Another thing. We just established that you can't seem to…well…fly. So how in the hell are you doing that?" She watched him curiously, trying to ignore how chilly her kitchen was becoming by the second with the spirit of winter inside of it. She glanced around and noticed that he had literally taken everything out of her kitchen cabinets and tossed everything in random directions. "Damn it Jack clean up the kitchen! Haven't you damaged my house enough for one day?"

Jack ignored her as he mulled over her question. She was right, he was still able to glide and float around, but it didn't look like he was going to be going anywhere anytime soon unless he took a bus or something. That would be an interesting ride in itself. Jack Frost riding a public bus. He snorted at the idea.

After she had calmed down earlier-the roof cave in had her freaking out for a good while-he had called out to the wind to see if he could somehow take flight again. He was unsuccessful, so he instead try floating up into the sky. Once he reached a certain height, which was as high as her roof, he seemed unable to go further up and just ended up gracefully landing back on the floor with her. He sighed deeply turning his attention back to the ranting girl beside him.

"Do you always talk to yourself?" He observed, his playful smirk returning to his lips. She glared at him before sighing in defeat. "Hey, I just realized, I don't know your name." He raised an eyebrow and sat up so he was floating around indian style.

"Oh right!" She suddenly stood up, her right hand extended to him and a small smile on her lips. "It's a pleasure to meet you Jack, My name is Lyra Greenhill. Welcome to Greenhill Farm." He tried her name once before reaching out and shaking her hand. She held back a wince at how frigid his hand was. They shook once and when he tried to pull his hand away she gripped it tighter, pulling him closer and standing tall. She glared at him with a devious smirk.

"Since you broke it, you will be rebuilding my roof. Hope you know how to use a hammer."

Jack's playful smile slowly fell from his lips as he realized this girl was in no way joking.

This was _not_ how he wanted to start his winter fun.

* * *

**Author's Note: So I haven't created or wrote anything in probably a good six years. It has been a very long time, so I ask that you be kind with your words on this. It's very hard to try and re-enter the world of writing and fiction. I am glad to be back though, and I must say I am excited for this story. I have a lot planned out already, so let's see how it turns out! Thanks for reading! **


	2. Chapter 2: Background Noise

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or the characters associated with it. I merely own my strange OC's.**

**I know the first few chapters are a bit slowish, but I'm trying to get everything set up so we can keep going forwards from a certain point. I had trouble with this chapter, and I'm still iffy about it, so I hope you like it!**

* * *

Jack huffed in irritation as he swung the broom in a swishing motion; trying desperately to clean up the mess from the roof collapse the previous night. He had known how to sweep a floor as a child, but after three hundred years of not having chores he suddenly thanked the heavens he didn't have to worry about them anymore. No matter what he did, the dust particles just kept bouncing all around the room! He would sweep roughly to try and get them into a pile, he would sweep softly praying they wouldn't fly away again, but no matter what he did he _couldn't_ get them to stay still enough to try and get into the dust pan. He resisted the urge to tug his hair out and scream like a crazed lunatic.

He could hear some loud, catchy pop song playing loudly from another room that Lyra was currently cleaning up. He groaned and sat down on the floor indian style, letting the broom plop to the ground knowing she probably wouldn't hear it over her music. It had taken them both a few hours to move the larger items from the collapse last night, but once it was all out of the way she had shoved the broom and dust pan into his hands and demanded he get to work.

He most definitely wanted to be out having a snowball fight right now.

He leaned back against the wall as he thought about the conversations that they had the previous night. He had learned a lot about the girl he was currently stuck with; at least until he found someway to contact the Guardians.

She was actually twenty-one years old, much older than he originally anticipated. Her appearance was the same as a sixteen year olds and he had asked her if she was serious several times that night to confirm she wasn't pulling his leg. He also found out that she was the sole living person in her family. Greenhill Farm was a ten acre piece of land, housing only a few different kinds of animals here and there. The house had several rooms, with many beds in most of them seeing as her grandfather had been a foster parent to many children in his growing age. Her mother had been his only child, losing his wife due to complications during child birth. Lyra's parents had passed away about two years ago in a brutal car accident. Last year her grandfather joined them in resting as cancer finally took over. He had left her the farm house, the land, and nice bank account in his passing. Jack was glad to hear that even after losing everyone she was still being taken care of by them, in a sense. She was alone in the house, and he frowned as he looked at how big it was. Didn't she get lonely?

He had also, after a few pauses of letting her have a rant or two, managed to get his whole tale of his world told to her as well. He informed her that the Guardians, were in fact, very real. She hadn't seemed very surprised when he started explaining how Santa and the Easter Bunny and everyone were real. It was as if she never expected them to _not_ be real. When he got into the story about how he had recently became a Guardian himself, and how he had fought against Pitch with the others to save the children she was very interested in the story. It was like he was a good book she was reading, only he was speaking the words instead of her actually reading it.

She was very open minded, but he could also tell that was a bit of a fault of hers as well. He found that she had a fear of the dark, and the things that resided in the dark-or ghosts as she said they were(he had desperately tried to explain to her that he was technically a ghost, but she would hear none of that)-and that gave him the sinking feeling that Pitch would definitely like her for her fear.

'_Well, at least I'm here to protect her.' _He said as a smug smirk formed across his lips.

Sadly, he never did consider the fact that he would need protection from her.

Jack was abruptly pulled out of his thoughts when something smacked into the side of his head. He yelped in surprise and reached down to grab the book that had just flown across the room and hit him. He looked in the direction to see Lyra leaning against the door frame, a scolding look on her face, and her arms crossed over her chest.

"You threw a book at my _head_!" He cried out, holding the book up for emphasis. She just merely shrugged. He couldn't _believe_ this girl!

"Who said you could slack off?" She questioned, pulling her glasses off her nose and cleaning the lenses on her shirt. "I offered you a place to stay, food to eat, and everything I could possibly give you while you fix your mistake. The least you can do is hurry up and get it done. I really want my room back, yanno."

"Fine, fine! I'm sorry, I was just resting. Sheesh." He grumbled darkly under his breath as he picked up the broom again and began sweeping. Oh, he had a rude awakening for this girl later on tonight. Throwing a book at his head? He was so going to get his revenge, but he had to wait. Wait until she wasn't expecting any retaliation. That was the best way to do it. A devious smirk played across his lips as he started plotting all the ways he could torture this poor girl.

Lyra watched him as he turned his back to her and began working again. A soft smiled spread across her lips and she shook her head, highly amused that the boy had so quickly gotten back to work. After everything he had done last night she figured she'd have to threaten to hit him with the bat again to get him to do some work. Her poor kitchen was still in shambles after his last night cabinet exploration. She hummed to herself and watched him for another moment before walking over to him. He glared at her playfully and she laughed, loving how easy it was to get him all worked up.

"Jack, you told me last night you hadn't really eaten anything besides what Santa's offered you, right? Is there anything you want to try food wise? I can make you what ever you want." He blinked at her, his evil plotting lost for a moment as he considered it. There had been many foods concocted over the years that he had been interested in trying, but he really didn't have a place to learn to cook himself. He also had no desire to eat out of the trash like a hobo either.

"That's…a really nice thing of you to offer. I honestly don't even know where to start." He stood there for a long moment, thinking hard about all the different foods he had seen and heard about. "Okay, don't laugh, but I've always wanted to try spaghetti."

Lyra laughed softly, ignoring him as he complained about how he said not to laugh, and gave him a thumbs up. "Can do kiddo! I expected you to pick some elaborate meal, but that's the easiest thing to get together!" She started walking towards the door before stopping and looking back at him. "Oh I almost forgot. Tomorrow the children I baby-sit on the weekdays after school will be coming over. There's five of them, so don't go around causing trouble while they're here."

Jack's heart skipped a beat and his eyes lit up. There were kids coming over tomorrow? Five of them? That was enough to make the front line of his snowball army! A huge grin crossed his features as he floated over to her, taking her hands into his and squeezing them in excitement.

"Do you think they'll be able to see me?" Lyra's eyes soften at the question, finally understanding why he kept asking it as often as he did after hearing his story the night before. She grinned and shrugged.

"If not, they seem to believe my stories pretty well. I'm sure by the end of the day you'll have five new believers to terrorize." Jack whooped a cheer and fist pumped into the air, already planning what activities he could do tomorrow with the children. Lyra laughed and shook her finger at him.

"Before you go getting super excited don't forget you have something really important to do." She pointed up at the roof, earning a depressed groan from the white haired boy.

* * *

Lyra stood by the stove, grabbing a salt container and pouring some into a pan of water she was currently trying to heat up. She could hear loud banging coming from her bedroom's location and was glad to hear Jack was doing work without her hovering over her. She sighed when she heard another painful yell, followed by a loud thump of the hammer falling back onto the floor. That was the fifth time he had hit himself with the hammer instead of the actual nail. She resumed her cooking and chose to ignore him, giving up on caring for his hand after the third time realizing that placing a pack of ice on it wouldn't help him in the long run. She was just thankful that she hadn't needed to make a trip to the hardware store just yet. All the supplies he needed to get started had been in the tool shed, so at least she didn't have to brave leaving Jack alone with her house yet.

She sniffed her nose and looked out the window at the darkening sky. She noticed the sky was becoming gray lately; a sure sign that snow would be coming soon. She assumed it was because the literal spirit of winter was currently occupying her town. She couldn't wait to watch the news that night and see how freaked out the weather people would be. They were calling for warm weather for at least another two weeks, but then this 'magical' cold front appeared and brought with it a ton of ice and snow? Yeah, she'd love to see how they'd play that one off.

She was glad that Jack had fallen into her house. She wasn't glad the roof broke in the process, but she was happy to know that she wasn't crazy for believing in the stories she believed in. He was the proof she needed in life to know that there was more out there than what one's eyes could see. It made her smile.

Not that she would admit it to him, but she was also glad to just have met Jack himself. They got along pretty well, ignoring the freak out she had the previous night. That was a very stressful situation so she didn't count that. He just made everything fun, and she was thankful for the excitement he had brought into her quite house.

There also appeared to be this unspoken war between the two of them on who could torture the other one more. She laughed to herself thinking about the book she had thrown. She knew it wouldn't do much damage, after all, he had just fallen through a roof going who knows how fast.

"Move your body, every-everybody~" She started softly singing Eiffel 65 as she poured the noodles into the now boiling water. She always found herself singing and dancing, especially when the kids were over. Just because Jack was staying at her house until he could somehow contact his friends didn't mean she was going to act any different. After all, it's not like the winter spirit could go around screaming about how badly she sang to the people of the world.

She turned to her radio, placing the CD with the song she had in her mind in, and began to sway and sing with it the moment it started playing. She returned her attention to dinner, getting a strainer to pour the noodles in when she heard a deep chuckle. Right beside her ear. She spun around quickly, nearly dropping the food in the process, to see a very dirty Jack hovering in the air very close to her. Her face flushed slightly realizing how close the boy had been to her backside just a second ago. She glared at him. He was covered in all kinds of mess from his work on the roof and cleaning up earlier, a big dark smudge across his right cheek.

How did she not feel the cold air that was the presence known as Jack Frost until _after_ he had snuck up on her? She groaned and turned away from him to finish up dinner.

"Stop sneaking up behind people, stalker, and go wash up. Dinner's done."

"Stalker? Haven't been called that one yet. I bet Bunny would just love to hear you call me that." He laughed. She smiled at his laugh, not even paying attention to what he had said. She found herself distracted by his laugh. It had some weird calming effect on her.

He blew a cool breeze her way, smirking when she involuntarily shivered, and washed his hands in the sink near her. She put two plates on the table, taking her seat and waiting for him to sit down before taking a bite of her food. He looked at it for a moment, contemplating whether he cooking was actually safe to eat.

She had thrown a book at his head. She had forced him to do chores. What if she had poisoned the food too? His face looked horrified as he used his fork to pick up one of the noodles.

"Just how safe is this anyway?" He asked, holding back a smirk as she started choking on her water she had been drinking. She slammed the cup down glaring at him.

"You just criticized my cooking before you've even had it? Why you ungrateful, little-" He busted out laughing at how red her face had become just from the one statement.

"Woah, chill before you bust something! I was only pickin' at ya." He chuckled again before taking a bite of the food, thoughtfully chewing for a few moments before he swallowed. His eyes opened wide and he stared at her, small sparkles surround his head. Well, the shimmering background part was probably a bit of an exaggeration.

Lyra watched with a shocked expression as Jack began to practically swallow the food whole. It was like the boy had never eaten a day in his life, or well, immortal life. He finished the plate faster than any normal person would and sighed happily once it was all gone.

"Um…" Lyra started to try and speak but found herself at a loss for words. What had just happened?

"That was amazing! Who knew modern food tasted this wonderful! I should have started eating years ago!" Lyra just continued watching him like he was some space alien before she busted into an uncontrollable laughter. He was like a little kid at Christmas-over a plate of spaghetti!

Lyra stood up, giggles still escaping her at times, and brought the pan over putting more of the food onto Jack's plate. He grinned up at her and winked before taking another bite. He ate slower this time, fully enjoying the savoring flavors of the meal she had been so gracious to cook for him.

"Oh man Lyra, I swear I will fix your roof and rebuild your whole house if you want if you'll cook something new every night. I want to try so many things!" His devious side had completely disappeared and was replaced with a childish side. She could tell he was mature underneath all his playfulness and pranks, but it was nice seeing his childish side in full swing. There was an innocence about him that brought a genuine smile to her face.

"I'm glad Jack." Jack paused his happy mode to look at her curiously. Jack frowned softly at the sad aura that was emanating from her, even though the smile she had was the prettiest one she had shown him. He swallowed loudly and dared to ask her what she meant.

"For what? That I like your cooking? Do you get told it's that bad that often?" He raised an eyebrow at her, hoping to lighten to mood a little. She just shook her head and looked out at the moon that was rising up into the dark sky.

"It's nice when the kids are here with me, but I've been lonely. I'm glad you're here, even if we are trying to see who can kill the other first." He chuckled at the last part before leaning back into his chair turning his gaze to the moon as well.

"Who knows. Maybe the Man in the Moon made it so it was your house I landed in." He turned his attention to her. "Lyra, I have barely any children believers. Even as we speak the number will not grow very much. You are the first person in three hundred years that is close to my age to ever see me. If you're ever lonely, I'll always be around." He stood up and grabbed his plate, ruffled her hair playfully like he had done to Jamie many times since the boy began to see him, and walked to the sink to clean his plate.

Lyra tried desperately to put her hair back in place and giggled. She began eating again all the while thinking of how nice it was to have a friend around. Her friends had all left after high school and kept in touch on occasions, but were busy with their own lives and had moved on. She didn't really know anyone besides the children she watched, and their families, so it made for lonely nights and quite holidays. If Jack would be her friend and keep her company then she would be glad to cook for him.

Jack started rummaging through her kitchen cabinets again while she finished her own plate, and when she looked up from her deep train of thought she found her cabinets to be empty and food to be all over the kitchen again.

"Damn it Jack Frost!" She looked around for the boy only to hear a loud laugh coming from down the hall.

* * *

It was around two in the morning when Jack sat up from the bed he was offered in one of the rooms of the house. A devious smirk spread across his lips as he quietly got out of the bed and grabbed his staff. It was time to put his plan into action.

His plan of revenge!

He tiptoed his way down the hall to the room that Lyra was currently occupying until he managed to rebuild her roof. It was amazing how she thought he could rebuild a roof, in all honesty. He hadn't done anything productive like that for a very, very long time. He supposed it was a good thing he had spent so much time at the pole watching the Yeti's build things or else he really wouldn't have a clue as to how to begin on the task she had given him.

Speaking of the pole, he _really_ needed to figure out how to get North's attention.

He opened the door just enough to get into the room, hopping over and landing on one of the bed post to the twin bed Lyra was currently sleeping peacefully in. He pressed his lips together into a tight line trying not to laugh as he lifted his staff in front of him. With a small blue glow, a large mound of freezing snow landed on top of Lyra.

She shot up out of the bed faster than he had seen any human move before. The shrill scream was what finally made him die laughing though. He fell back onto the floor behind him holding his stomach as he laughed till tears appeared on the edges of his eyes.

"Jack Frost! I'm going to _kill_ you!"

Jack ran.

* * *

A tall, thin blonde hair man tucked his wings against his back as he looked at the yeti's blocking the door into North's workshop. His bright baby blue eyes looked at the building, a small smile appearing on his thin lips as he approached them. He was freezing, having not changed his clothes before arriving here at the North Pole. His bellbottom pure white pants were doing a decent job for keeping his legs warm, but the open jacked that ended at his rib cage left his chest and stomach freezing. He nodded to the yeti who was staring at him like he had just seen a ghost.

"May I please speak with Sir North?" His smooth voice was like silk and the yeti barely had moved to the side before the man slipped past him and into the warmth of the North Pole.

After asking a yeti that was inside to take him to North, he finally arrived in a room with a large globe in the center. The globe was covered in small shimmering lights. Believers, he mentally noted. A large man turned to face him, his large blue eyes lighting up in shock at the sight of his visitor. He rubbed his large, white beard before crossing his arms across his chest exposing tattoos of the nice and naughty list.

"Cupid, my dear friend. What brings you here all of sudden?" He spoke in a thick Russian accent. Cupid smiled to him, glad no women were around since they usually fainted when he smiled. He really didn't want to watch over another passed out female at the moment.

"I'm sorry to bother you sir. However, I have some serious business I need to discuss with you."

"Tell tell! Here, cookie?" The large man lifted a plate of cookies out of a small elf's hand that had just been licking on the cookies not a moment before hand. Cupid shook his head, not wanting to catch the elf's stupid syndrome.

"North, it appears my brother has broken out of his seal." North dropped the plate of cookies, looking at the man seriously.

"That is indeed news. Has he caused trouble yet?" North turned to look at the globe, not noticing anything different with the glowing lights.

"Not within the human world, yet. I spoke to him." Cupid gritted his teeth, his hand clenching around the bow that he was holding. "I have been having difficulty flying since he spoke to me. The winds have been shifting quite oddly lately. I believe that he has killed Aria. The wind sprite. We were talking a few days ago telepathically, and before she stopped talking to me she told me that if something happened she would seal her powers in the hope of finding a new host. I am need of your help to find her."

North gasped, spinning around to start at the blonde man. "Are you serious? I had only met Aria once. Such an adorable child she was! You really think she has been killed?" His thick accent coming out stronger now the he was getting more worried. Cupid merely nodded.

"On top of that. He has told me that he has joined up with Pitch Black, and that we should prepare for a fight like none we have dealt with before."

The two men stared into each others eyes as the details settled into facts. North turned and grabbed a large handle, turning it to the side before pushing it down. The northern lights began from the area where the globe was before slow spreading out across the sky.

* * *

**Man! I had trouble typing this up so I hope it is okay. I am having trouble with these first few chapters because it's always so hard to get people introduced and the plot put into motion, but once we get started we can't stop! Thanks to everyone for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3: Of Snowflakes and Whispers

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or the characters associated with it. I merely own my strange OC's.**

**Sorry that this is late! I know that I told a few of you that I would have it up before now, but I actually just got promoted to management so I have been under long hours of training. So, now that I have a chance I'm proud to welcome you to chapter three!**

* * *

Monday. To most people Monday is the worse day of the week. For Lyra, Monday was always the best. Ever since losing her grandfather to cancer she was on her own. Alone with no one to really talk to but the animals on the farm. Monday, however, was the day the children came to be watched until their parents got off of work. Monday was the first day of the week that she could look forward to not being alone.

Lyra always got along with children more than she did people her own age. Sometimes it was like a curse, but Lyra deep down considered it to be a blessing. Not being able to hang out at the bars with friends sometimes made her depressed, but in all honesty, she really preferred watching Disney movies with the girls or having nerf gun wars with the boys more.

It was just so much more fun than getting slam drunk and most likely ending up pregnant the next day. At least to her anyway.

Lyra hummed softly to herself as she finished washing up the breakfast dishes. Jack was currently, if he was behaving, working on the roof in her bedroom. After last night's prank on her, she purposely put hot sauce in his pancakes this morning as payback. It was an extremely amusing thing to witness.

'_Who knew that winter spirits didn't like spicy food?_' She thought to herself with an evil smirk. After he had calmed down from screaming about how he would never eat another pancake again she had managed to get him to believe she did it on purpose(he honestly wasn't surprised by this claim) and got him to enjoy a real pancake. He enjoyed them, but he didn't swallow it whole like he had the spaghetti. He was too worried about finding more hot sauce. Lyra laughed to herself.

She put the dishes back into the cabinet and turned to look at a clean kitchen. Jack had finally stopped trying to drive her crazy by removing everything from her cabinets. That boy was more trouble than he was worth sometimes.

Which made of her think of something really important she probably should have considered much sooner.

Lyra walked down the hall towards her room opening the door slowly. She was afraid of what she might find in the room. Jack hopped down from the roof and landed gracefully on the floor, grinning at her as he gave a half salute. She looked up at the roof where he was working to see…that it looked worse than it did before he started working on it. He walked over to stand beside her and look at his work.

"So, how's it looking?" He wore a smug smirk already expecting the answer she was going to give him. Lyra just blankly stared at the roof in silence for a few moments before sighing heavily. She patted his shoulder and shook her head at him before looking at him.

"Jack. You're absolutely worthless when it comes to building things. I'm surprised Santa ever let you into his workshop." Jack playfully winced with each sentence she said, his pride taking a slight blow from the speech.

"Hey now! It's not that bad." He scowled while he kicked his staff up from the floor and into his hands to lean against. She just shook her head again and headed out of the room.

"I'll call the professionals tomorrow. You just worry about doing something else if you want. No need killing the roof anymore I suppose." He chuckled to himself and followed along behind her.

"Hey, hey! When are the kids getting out of school? You think if I made it snow faster they'll come home faster?" He knew the answer would be yes, but he was pretty sure she would not approve of it. He wasn't sure why, but these past three days he had noticed he was quite concerned about her feelings on things. He shrugged it off as nothing and pondered the whole snow idea.

"If you're going to make it snow then cover the hole on the roof really well with a tarp, 'kay?" Jack nearly tripped at how easily he got approval for that. He stared at her wide eyed making sure she wasn't going crazy.

"You've got a deal!" He ruffled her hair playfully and headed for the door to head to the tool shed he had been really well acquainted with.

"If you can then don't cover the roads in snow!" She called after him. "The kids have to go home tonight." He huffed and turned back around to face her.

"Aww come on Miss Priss, can't they spend the night? They'll probably be more fun to hang around than you are." An evil smirk crossed his lips and he disappeared out the door before she had a chance to curse him out really good. She scowled and crossed her arms over her chest.

"See if you have a bed when you go to sleep tonight mister. Then you'll learn to control that mouth of yours." She muttered darkly, going to locate some spare jackets for the children when they got here. Knowing Jack they were going to be having a fun, cold time soon.

* * *

It was about three o'clock when the yellow bus finally pulled up at the end of Greenhill Farm's driveway. Lyra stood out there waiting while pulling on a pair of gloves. As abnormal as it would be for anyone who came to her house Jack had decided to keep the snow on the property until after the children got home that night. Then, she was pretty sure, he would most likely cover the town in the white powder for everyone to enjoy.

She waved to the bus driver who was looking at the snow like it was some sort of ghost. She did everything in her power to act like nothing abnormal was happening. Wouldn't do to let the normal people think they were crazy, she supposed. Finally five little bodies came scrambling down the stairs of the bus, all latching onto Lyra's waste in a hello hug.

"Why hello to you as well my friends. Now!" They all stood in front of her waiting for the day's agenda she usually would give them after they arrived. She paced in front of them much like a military leader would to his subordinates. The children watched her, but she could see their eyes excitedly drifting to the fact it was snowing.

"I have three things on the agenda today troops. First, we will go inside and do our homework. During homework time you will be offered a snack. Second, I must tell you a story and unless you fully believe the story then we cannot proceed to step three. Step three, if you complete the first two, will be to come outside and have the most fun we can with this snow. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am!" They all said before four of them ran to the house giggling in glee. The oldest, a chocolate skin eight year old girl with her hair in rows of braids bedazzled with a bunch of beads at the end waited behind, walking beside Lyra as they headed to the house.

"Lyra, let me tell you something, girl. This stupid white cracker up in school today was all like 'I can so beat you at singing.' It took everything up in me not to show that girl up in front of the school." Lyra sighed heavily listening to the child talk. She could have sworn her efforts to make this girl's attitude die down some were working, but apparently not. She heard a laugh coming from Jack who was hanging out up on a tree branch somewhere.

"Well you listen here, girlie. I told you to stop with the names. Crackers may be white but they are not stupid. I really need to do something about the things that older brother of yours is teaching you." The girl shrugged like she didn't care. "Ebony, I'm serious. Don't call people such things, it just makes you look lower than you really are. Besides, who needs to show anyone up. You already won the talent show last month, everyone already knows you can sing." Lyra winked to the girl before opening the front door and ushering her inside. She stopped to look back outside, glancing around for Jack to see him laughing to himself and laying on a tree branch nearby. He was thoroughly enjoying the cold, snowy weather. She smiled softly and shut the door, allowing the children to focus on their studies before bringing the trickster inside.

She walked to the table placing a bowl of goldfish crackers and a bowl of grapes on the table for the children to munch on while they worked on their homework. She leaned back against the counter and watched them; engrossing herself in how much they had grown over the year.

Ebony was the oldest at eight years old, and the one with the most attitude. Her older brother was hitting sixteen soon so she had picked up on his teenage speech patterns and from that point on the sassiness never stopped. She was still respectful to Lyra and other people, but only if she liked them. It was an issue that Lyra was slowly trying to weed out of the girl.

After her was Alayna. She was a tiny girl for a seven year old, her hair a white blonde flowing down her back with blue eyes that could almost match Jack's. Lyra shook her head momentarily to rid herself of the winter spirit. He kept seeming to pop up lately, she noted. Alayna was the brains of the group always having her nose in a book of some sort. She loved trying out big words and sometimes Lyra found herself using google to figure out what the child was saying.

Michael and Mattieu were the twins and the troublemakers. They were seven years old with bright red hair that was always messy and freckles under their green eyes. They were also quite inseparable. They had this freakish ability to finish each other's sentences(if they wanted to) and were constantly trying to form new pranks to pull on everyone. Jack would probably dub them his minions and go to town with the two of them. She groaned just thinking about it.

Last but not least was little Blake. He had short trimmed black hair and brown eyes that reminded her of chocolate. He was the youngest, and also the quietest of the kids. He was extremely shy. It had taken Lyra a week to get the boy to open up to her, and she was a bit concerned over how he would respond to Jack when it came time to meet him. She just prayed that maybe he would give Jack a chance instead of trying to hide somewhere while the other children played.

These were her friends; her little playmates during the week. They were also her reason for smiling each day. In her opinion, nothing more was needed but these five, crazy little kids.

Though, Jack coming around seemed to have her heart yearning for something else lately, but she wasn't quite sure what it was she was after.

Jack was suddenly beside her, leaning against the counter watching the kids. He had a soft smile across his lips; his eyes showing just how fond of children he was. Lyra's heart jumped slightly when she realized his shoulder was against hers-he was standing really close. Well, closer than she was used too. She took a deep breath and turned her attention away from him.

"You're a good person Lyra." He spoke softly, as if he was afraid of disturbing the kids study time. She smiled to him and blushed softly.

"When you're not being an idiot, you're not too bad yourself Snowflake." He groaned loudly at the nickname.

"Not you too! What is with you people and these un-creative nicknames! Come on, come up with something better would ya?" She laughed, ignoring the strange looks the kids at the table were giving her.

"Lyra you gone crazy child." Ebony said as she rose her eyebrow.

"Gone crazy?" Mattieu piped in while laughing. "Why she-"

"-was crazy long before we came around!" Michael finished for him also laughing.

"You guys shouldn't pick on Lyra! Remember what happened the last time you did that?" Alayna chimed in before turning her attention to her book. The boys paid her no mind as they continued to poke insults at their babysitter.

Lyra evil smirk returned as she listened to the boys; Ebony joining in every so often. She turned her attention to Jack-who seemed to completely enjoy the kids picking on her-and held her hand out to him.

"Jack may I have a snowball please?" The kids all looked at her like she was completely insane at this point. Jack blinked at her, not sure which side he wanted to take, before deciding he didn't care as long as the fun got started. He handed her one causing the kids to gasp in surprise as the ball of white appeared out of no where in Lyra's hand. She turned towards them and smiled big.

"Which one of you brats wants to go down first, hm?"

"How did you do that!?" Blake cried out, his eyes full of wonder and curiosity. Lyra laughed softly and tosses the ball of snow up and down into the air.

"My friend Jack Frost gave it to me!"

"Jack Frost? Who is Jack Frost?" Ebony asked.

"Jack Frost is the personification of winter. You know, like Old Man Winter? Much how Santa Claus is for Christmas and the Easter Bunny for Easter." Alayna spoke with knowledge. "Though I don't see how you could possibly be friends with the spirit of winter. I don't even see him."

"Because unless you believe with all your heart he is real, you won't be able to see him!' Lyra smiled happily at the kids, tossing the snow ball into her other hand since the one holding it was becoming numb. "So initiating step two! Can you guys really believe in Jack Frost? Close your eyes, and when you open them you let me know if you see him." Lyra winked playfully and tossed the snowball into the kitchen sink.

Jack couldn't contained his excitement. He hugged Lyra tightly while the kids eyes were closed in concentration before he hopped up into the air and landed in the middle of the table. He crouched down and let the temperature around him cool down slowly. When the kids all opened their eyes they stared at him in shock.

Blake screamed and ran from the table to hide behind Lyra. Jack looked shocked at the sudden reaction.

"Well now I meant to introduce myself as a nice guy but I've gone and scared him. Not what I meant to do." Jack ran his fingers through his head and gave a crooked smile.

"Oh my gosh he's real! Jack Frost! I can't believe it!" Alayna stood up from her chair absolutely eager to study the boy in front of her like a rat in a science lab.

"Dude! Did you really-"

"-make that snow ball? That's totally wicked!" The twins exclaimed also excited.

Ebony was silent with a frown on her lips. Jack blinked over at her, a hurt expression passing across his face before he quickly covered it up. He hopped off the table noticing her eyes didn't follow him. He moved closer to her and bent down to her level.

"Come on Ebony…You can see me, can't you?" Lyra noticed the hidden plea in his tone. She felt her heartstrings being pulled for the boy again. How many times had he asked that one question in his life?

"I must be loosing my mind or somethin' for me to be see all ya'll weird things up in here." Ebony smirked slightly before holding her hand out. Jack reach out to shake it but was shocked when she did a strange handshake children were doing these days instead. He laughed and caught on, getting the hand shake right the second time around.

"Well kids, if I do say so myself Lyra's homework plan is the most boring of the three and I say it's time to go outside and start this war!" Jack yelled as he floated back up onto the table. "So get some jackets and let the snowball fight begin!"

Four children cheered while Lyra tried to pull Blake from behind her and ignore the comment Jack just made.

* * *

Lyra yelped in surprise when all the kids ran and tackled her to the ground shoving her into a large mound of cold snow. They all laughed and giggled as Lyra rolled around desperately trying to escape the deathly grasp. She dramatically cried out a no as she reached out to no one before begging to trees to save her. This in turned caused the attached children to become stronger and the laughter to be louder.

Jack had noticed at the beginning of the snowball fight that little Blake was absolutely terrified of Jack. So, being the kind spirit he is, he used his power of fun to open the boy up. 'Blake Blake! Have a snowflake!' he had rhymed as he tossed a snowball at the boy. The next moment the small boy was laughing in joy and had engaged in the full on attack of snowball frenzy.

Jack watched with a loving smile on his face as Lyra played with the kids after the snowballs finally died down. It was usual for parents and teenagers to sometimes play with kids, but he sometimes felt like they had better things they wished to be doing at the moment instead of actually having fun. Lyra didn't seem like that at all. This was her fun, her entertainment, and her life. It was shown in how different each of the kids were yet how much they all seemed to love her.

It made his affection for the girl a little stronger, as a friend of course. Jack looked up toward the sky to see it was getting darker. He turned his attention back down to see everyone laying on the ground making snow angels.

"Jack come on and make one!" His heart fluttered happily seeing Lyra covered in snow and beckoning him to come over and play. It was always amazing when kids loved what he did, but seeing Lyra having fun in the snow he had made? The wound she had placed on his pride about the roof earlier suddenly was healed twice over. He laughed and joined them, smirking in triumph when his was the only one without handprints.

"I win!" He yelled causing the kids to toss more snowballs at him complaining about how he cheated.

He might not be able to fly away from this place, but at the moment Jack was more happier to have been stuck here than anywhere else.

If only such a feeling could last forever.

* * *

It was finally dark out when the last child's car pulled out of the drive way. Lyra stood out on the porch and waved them goodbye until they were out of sight. Jack floated in the air beside her grinning.

"Man Lyra that was so fun! Can we do that again tomorrow?" Lyra laughed and leaned against her porch's railing.

"I suppose. Those poor kids were so tired they'll sleep no problems tonight." Jack laughed and landed on top of the railing, resting his staff on his lap and he crouched into a sitting position.

"They're good kids. You looked like you were having fun today too." Jack winked at her and she shrugged.

"I never said I hated snow, did I? Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow." She suddenly sang out. Jack smiled.

"You really like singing I've noticed."

"There is a song that matches most moments in life. You'd be surprised at how easily songs can not only apply to things in life but how many of them hold the answers to problems." He hummed in thought about such a statement. She looked up at him and smiled. "Who knows, maybe one day I'll have the perfect song to explain you being in my life now."

He smiled, "When you find it I'd love to hear it."

"You'll be the first and most likely only one, hun." He blushed at the pet name and scratched the back of his neck nervously.

'_Jack'_ Lyra blinked in confusion, standing up from the railing and looking across her yard into the darkness for the soft whispering voice.

"Did you hear that?" She asked the white hair boy only to have him look at her curiously.

"Hear what?-" He started to ask before the voice cut him off.

'_Jack help me.' _It sounded urgent, in pain. Lyra hopped off the porch and started heading in the direction she felt a strange desire to go. Jack watched her in confusion before following after her.

"Lyra, what's wrong with you?" She shushed him and listened for the voice again.

'_Jack…please.'_

"Jack it needs help!" Lyra said, running in the direction the wind seemed to be pulling her. She didn't understand why her body was so compelled to go after the voice. Normally things like this would have her hiding in her room, freaking out, and covering her ears until the voice went away. Jack yelled after her, not expecting her to take off running.

She ran into the woods hearing the voice getting louder when she tripped over a root and tumbled down a small hill. She landed with a hard thud on the small creek Jack had frozen over in his winter display and winced in pain as her ankle suddenly started throbbing.

'_Jack why won't you save me…'_ The voice drifted off into the wind like someone had taken the owner of it and disappeared without a trace.

"Lyra!" Jack yelled as he landed gracefully beside her after sliding down the hill like his feet were a sled. "What are you doing?"

"I heard a voice! It was calling out for you to help so I…I had to follow it. You couldn't hear it and it needed help…" Jack's face became serious and he stood up and looked around; his staff in a defense stance. "Who is there!? Show yourself!" He cried out. When he noticed that there was nothing around he frown in confusion and turned to Lyra.

"Well it must be gone…What did the voice say? Was it a guys?" Was Pitch pulling tricks like he had with his sister's voice that one time.

That was when he remembered Pitch. He was supposed to be getting in contact with North! Pitch was back! He scowled and held his hand out for Lyra to get up with.

"I need to get you back inside. It's not safe out here at this time of night." Lyra took his hand and pulled her self up, yelping in pain as she put pressure on her ankle.

"Damn it all to hell! Why am I always getting hurt?" Jack sighed at her taking note for the first time that Lyra was actually shorter than him. She only came up to his chin in height. Looking at her in pain in the cold snow he realized just how small and fragile she really looked. A protective feeling shot through his body and he suddenly scooped her up into his arms bridal style. She squeaked in surprise, blushing a deep red and he chuckled at the reaction.

"What are you doing Jack? Put me down!" He laughed and shook his head, walking up the small hill back towards the house.

"I'm taking you and your foul mouth back to the house to put some ice on that ankle properly, missy. After that I'll check the area and see if anyone is around. Can't have you chasing after anymore voices, promise?" He watched her huff in irritation at being carried. "Seriously Lyra, if you hear any voices again don't chase them. Promise?"

She looked at him for a long moment before nodding. Jack exhaled the breath he was holding while waiting for her answer. He nodded and continued his trek back towards the house.

Pitch had used things that were important to him against him before. He'd be damned if he used Lyra against him. Lyra was something different, something special, and he'd fight Pitch with everything he had if it meant keeping her safe.

If he was trying to pull her in, then he wasn't going to get her without a fight.

* * *

**Author's Note: I am so happy about all the follows, reviews, and favorites I have. Thank you guys so much. So I wanted to add a little Lyra/Jack interaction into this chapter, but since they've only technically been together for about three days I didn't want them "omg I'm in love". That just makes the story fast and boring in my opinion. Anyway, I'll have the next chapter out soon! **


	4. Chapter 4: Home

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or the characters associated with it. I merely own my strange OC's.**

* * *

Three weeks had passed since Jack Frost had crash landed through Lyra Greenhill's roof one fateful night. Three long, wonderful weeks of torturing Lyra when the chance presented itself to Jack. Three revenge filled weeks of Lyra getting him back when he wasn't paying attention.

Three nerve-wracking weeks that Jack couldn't figure out how to get the Guardian's attention.

Jack sat on the porch railing looking up at the gray clouded sky as small snowflakes fell. He had let it snow everyday for three weeks in hopes that the Guardians would see the town was the only place with snow. He supposed it just wasn't enough to catch their attention. The world was a big place, and this was one tiny town.

He hadn't minded his time here with Lyra. Deep down he wished he could stay with her always. With everyday that passed he found himself becoming more attached to her. More attached to the life he had here with her. She made him feel like a human almost. Made him feel like he was like all the other teenagers his age. He breathed in a deep breath through his nose and sighed heavily. His feeling of happiness disappeared a week ago when the Guardian's kept sending the Northern lights signal every night. He assumed it was them trying to somehow contact him, but at the moment it wasn't like he could pick up the phone and be all 'Hey North how's life?'

Jack looked back over his shoulder when he heard the front door close behind him. He hopped off the railing and walked lightly across the snow on the porch to stand in front of the honey blonde girl he had been living with recently. He smiled at her and shoved his hands into his pocket of his hoodie.

"So Missy, what's on today's agenda?" She smiled to him and held her hand out to him. He blinked at it curiously for a moment before cautiously pulling his hand from his pocket and placing it in hers. She pulled him back inside the house grinning.

'_This is unusual.' _Jack thought to himself and she pushed him into his bedroom. She suddenly shut the door behind her and stood in front of it like she was trying to prevent him from getting out. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Um? That doesn't answer my question." Was his blank remark. She smiled before pointing to something on the bed.

"Change clothes. Now." She demanded. He snorted and crossed his arms.

"Why would I do that? I'm just fine in my clothes thank you very much." He wasn't changing clothes. He had worn these clothes for years and he had no plans on changing his style anytime soon. She huffed in irritation.

"Jack Frost you have been here for three weeks wearing those clothes-"

"I've worn them for hundreds of years. What difference does these three weeks make?" He interrupted her hoping to make her see how unreasonable she was being.

She just raised an eyebrow at him and crossed her arms over her chest.

"And when was the last time you _washed_ them? Hm? I'm surprised you're not a walking odor at this point!" Jack scowled at this.

"I'm not like you. I don't need to wash my clothes."

Lyra proceeded to look at every dirt stain that was on his hoodie and pants. Jack scowled realizing she wasn't buying it.

"Oh come on Lyra!"

"Not a chance Jack. Off. Now. Or I'll remove them from you myself."

"The washer will eat them! They're delicate materials!" She started to advance on him. He took a step back for every step forward she took. When he ran out of room to back up he dived to the side to make a break for the window.

Lyra was quick for a small girl. She tackled him to the ground and proceeded to try and strip him. Jack quickly grabbed her wrists and flipped her off of him, holding her wrists on the floor with one hand while he tsked her with the other hand.

"Now now Lyra dear. I can understand why you want my hot body all to yourself but alas I'm just not ready for such a deep commitment yet. You haven't even told me how much you love me." He smirked deviously as her face turned as red as a tomato.

"D-Damn it Jack release me now! I promise you that your clothes will be fine! I even planned on patching up your pants where you ripped them last week!" She started wiggling like a weird worm trying to free herself from his grip. He scowled and let her go, moving to the other side of the room to avoid her attacks again. He froze her feet to the ground for an added measure of defense.

"They're fine Lyra. Just let it go." He huffed in annoyance and turned his head away.

'_So childish_ Lyra muttered darkly in her head, glaring down at the ice holding her in place, before she pull out her last weapon of attack.

She looked up and stared at him with big doe eyes, small tears forming in the corner of her eyes and a small pout on her lips. Jack's scowl got deeper when he saw this. Recently she had this ability to make him do whatever she wanted with that stupid, pouty face of hers. He felt like he was kicking a small puppy when she did this.

"Lyra." He whined back not liking how this was going.

"After I had planned to make a special dinner for you tonight and everything." Was she sniffing? She wiped at her eyes to remove the fake tears that were there.

Not to mention she was threatening dinner.

He groaned loudly and pointed at the door, unfreezing her feet, and trying to hide a small blush that formed on his cheeks.

"Get out so I can change. Damn woman." He grumbled darkly. Lyra was about to cheer in joy when she stopped and looked at him in shock.

"Jack you just cursed." She was completely shocked. She was the one with the bad mouth. Jack had never said anything of the sort in the three weeks he had been here. He glared at her.

"I try to keep my mouth clean since all I hang out with is children. You, on the other hand, are the bad influence ruining my good speaking streak so get out if you want my clothes!" Lyra stopped herself from snorting at how weird the statement was and quickly left the room.

Jack leaned on his mattress with a sigh and looked at the clothes she lad laying out for him. '_At least they're soft'_ he thought to himself and he picked up the shirt. With a groan he stripped out of his clothes and changed into the white t-shirt and black sweatpants she had laid out before heading down the hall to the laundry room where Lyra was sure to be waiting.

'_Stubborn woman.'_

* * *

Two hours later Jack sat in a chair at the kitchen table watching Lyra work on chopping something for the meal she was preparing. He had his clothes back on-finally-after she had sewn up a few places here an there. What Jack couldn't help doing was pulling the neck of his hoodie up over his nose and breathing in deeply. It smelt _amazing_. He hated it when Lyra was right, but man was she right. He was so thankful she had washed it for him.

Though he would never openly admit that to her. She would let it go to her head way too much.

His attention went back to watching her work-his hoodie still pulled up over his nose of course-and noticed her staring out the window with that odd look she had been getting lately. Ever since that night she had claimed to hear someone's voice Jack had noticed her stare out the window at odd intervals of the day. She swore up and down that she didn't hear the voice anymore, but he could tell something was still troubling her. That, in turn, troubled him.

Lyra was steady chopping away as she stared out the window listening to the soft whisper of the voice that called for help. Jack had searched the area that night and found nothing, and he looked so worried about the fact someone was calling to her she figured it was best to ignore it was happening. However, the voice was persistent. It was calling out more often, sounding more in pain with each call.

Lyra's attention was abruptly pulled from the pleading voice when a surge of pain shot through her hand. She looked down to see blood pouring from her finger. She cursed loudly and ran to the sink. She shoved her hand under the running water not realizing Jack was instantly by her side.

"Dozing off while using a knife. You keep this up I'll be a better doctor than someone with a degree." He chuckled softly, taking her hand into his and putting pressure on the cut while using the other hand to reach for the medicine cabinet. Lyra watched him get to work on bandaging her hand. Jack was smiling softly but the concern was in his eyes. Lyra smiled to herself and thanked the boy while he put the bandages back in the cabinet.

"You're good to me Jack." She grinned to him before turning around to rid of the now ruined food. "I suppose I'll have to make something else."

Jack walked up behind her and rested his chin on her shoulder to look down at the food. Lyra blushed slightly at the contact. She had noticed he had become a little more touchy-feely lately. Not that she minded, though, she did sometimes have to stop herself from pulling away from his icy cold touch.

"Eh, what's a little blood? We can pretend we're vampires!"

"You resemble one so I think we're already half way there." She sighed at him and got rid of the food.

"Aren't vampire all the rage these days?" He placed his hand on his chin and wiggled his eyebrows at her. "After all, you quite determined early to strip me. It's only a matter of time before you fall for my good looks and amazing personality." Lyra rolled her eyes.

"Trust me sweetheart." Jacks blushed slightly at the name. "You'll fall for me first." She teased back. He sat Indian style and floated in the air behind her.

"Oh? And why is that?" She turned and smiled softly at him.

"Because, I'm sexy and I know it." She sang out before laughing and looking for something else to cook.

Jack shook his head. This girl with her songs was something else. Even with how corny it was he still found himself smiling at her.

"Oh, onto something more important! I've been thinking about some things."

"Never a safe thing to do." She glared at him while he chuckled.

"And here I was going to help you with your Guardian issue, punk. You can sleep outside tonight." She huffed and tossed a spoon she was holding at him.

"Wait, the Guardians? What did you have in mind?" He placed his feet back on the ground beside her.

"Well, when you froze my feet earlier it made me wonder. Can you do that to yourself?" He looked at her like that was the stupidest question to ask. He was the winter spirit after all. She shrugged at his expression. "If you could like, freeze yourself to the top of my car so you didn't fly away then we could drive around into the surrounding towns and let you make it snow. If we expand the area of cold then maybe you're location will be more noticeable?"

Jack stared at her like she was the one who had just fallen through the roof and not him. It was a brilliant idea. Absolutely, positively the best he had heard. Though that was because he himself had yet to come up with an actual plan.

He hugged her suddenly while trying to contain his excitement. Lyra tensed up since she was not expecting the cold hug before lightly patting his back in return. He pulled away and she scratched her cheek nervously; a small blush forming.

"Um…you're welcome?" His white smile was enough of an answer for her to know he loved the idea.

"We'll go after we eat. It should start getting dark soon." She stopped herself from mentioning that fact that no one would really see him on the top of the car.

"No one will see me either. It'll be like you're just traveling around. Nothing more.' She turned to looked at him just in time to see the sad smile disappear from his lips. She smiled softly and patted his cheek lovingly.

"Only a matter of time before you have to hide in a hole like the others do. Don't waste your time being invisible. Besides, I see you." Jack chuckled and hopped up onto the counter to sit.

"Right now, Lyra, you seeing me is all I think I need."

"Jack, just so you know. When you're able to fly again and leave this place I don't plan on letting anyone have that room. You're always welcomed to come home whenever you feel like it." Jack looked at her for a moment. A warm feeling pooled through his body; a smile crossing his lips as he looked around the kitchen.

"Home. I'd love to come back home when I'm not busy." He whispered but Lyra still heard him. She patted his knee before getting back to cooking.

"Home." He said one last time enjoying the way the word felt across his lips.

* * *

Jack had his arms spread out like he was an airplane as the wind rushed against his body. His feet were currently frozen to the bed of the truck Lyra was driving. They were coming up along the border of another town, having just left enough wintry goodness for the town they were driving away from. She had the small window on the back of the truck open so he could talk to her. She was blaring music, though, so he didn't really disturb her and instead just enjoyed the feeling of finally returning to the one thing he knew more than anything else.

Enjoying the wonderful breeze and bringing winter to those around him.

'_Cause if it's coming for you, then it's coming for me, cause I will be there, cause we need each other in the dark.'_ Lyra was singing softly in the truck. Even over the wind he could hear her voice harmonizing with the song playing from the radio. Jack listened intently, realizing with every lyric she sang that they seemed to match situations he were sure to come. He poked his head into the small window to look at her. She smiled at him.

"I like that song." He said, listening to the next set of lyrics. Why did he feel like this would be a song he remembered when it came time to fight Pitch?

"It's called In The Dark by Tiesto. I like the meaning in the lyrics."

"Yeah…" He smirked playfully. "Though I must say he sings so much better than that croaking you were just doing." Lyra slammed on the breaks causing Jack's body to jerk and slam into the truck. He scowled and rubbed his shoulder as she started to drive again.

"Sorry. Break check. Would you believe they're working?" She looked at him innocently. Jack huffed and pulled his head out of the truck, smiling when she repeated the song for him to listen to. He got back to work, eventually catching the tune of the song and humming along as she drove on into the night.

* * *

North paced back and forth in front of the large globe at the center of his workshop as yeti's and elves ran around either working(in the case of the yeti's) or getting under boot(in the case of the elves). Bunnymund was leaning against a wall over in a corner, looking over his boomerangs to make sure they were in tip top condition. When he felt satisfied that they were he pulled out an egg and a paint brush and started painting a soft pink on the egg.

"Come on, mate. It's only a matter of time 'fore we find the show pony. He's too stubborn to have got himself offed by Pitch. He'll turn up." Bunny's Australian accent carried across the room to the large man pacing. North sighed and looked back at the globe.

"Has Tooth found anything?" He asked before turning to look at the six foot rabbit. Bunny shrugged.

"She said she'd let us know the moment she found something out. 'Er little fairies can fly and cover more ground, I say. Only a matter of time."

"I hadn't realized Aria's gifts were extended so far. With her gone Jack's flying ability must have also left. " Cupid sighed softly from the chair he was occupying. He lifted up his mug of hot chocolate and took a small swig. "Will he really be of much help if he's immobilized so? I'd hate to have to baby-sit him."

"Ah, got a bit of a problem with the brat too, eh mate?"

"A blizzard on Valentines day? Most annoying thing ever." Bunny chuckled at this, glad to have someone on his side about his feelings for Jack.

"Calm now. Jack maybe be a trickster but he has proven his abilities. He is vital to this fight." North scolded the two of them. Cupid and Bunny looked at each other, shrugged, and resumed their previous activities.

"I've found something!" A buzzing noise of wing flapping interrupted everyone's thoughts as they turned to see a very colorful half humming bird woman fly up. She was gasping for air as if she had just flown cross country or something. She smiled to everyone.

"Baby tooth found an area where it's snowing. It's the only place where there's any snow right now! She's going to search the area to see if she can find Jack." North laughed loudly and hugged the girl.

"Good job Tooth! Now, let us join her in the search! To the sleigh!"

"I'd rather take my tunnels, mate." Bunny's face turned slightly green at the thought of another sleigh ride.

A golden man wearing an outfit of sand who had been silent up until this point threw his hands up into the air and grinned; a sand picture of the sleigh appearing over his head.

Cupid just shook his head at the lot. "What have I gotten myself into." He sighed as North and Bunny got into a bicker war over whether the tunnels or the sleigh were better.

* * *

**Author's Note: I'm so happy so many people seem to be enjoying this. You have no idea how happy I am to come home an write each night thinking someone will enjoy reading this! Thank you guys so very, very much!**


	5. Chapter 5: Stay Safe

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or the characters associated with it. I merely own my strange OC's.**

* * *

A whole day passed after Jack and Lyra took care of spreading the winter love in the nearby areas. He still hadn't heard anything from the Guardians, but he had a good feeling they were going to show up soon.

If nothing else, Lyra was in the living room decorating her Christmas tree so it was only a matter of time before North probably showed up. Did he still deliver to adults who lived alone? That was something he would need to ask when North came around. After all, she technically was a believer so didn't she still count?

"It's a good question." He said out loud to himself. If North didn't deliver gifts to people Lyra's age he wondered if North would do it as a favor for him. After all, Lyra didn't really have anyone but the animals and the kids to give her gifts. "I'll have to get her something this year."

"Jack who are you talking too?" He heard Lyra ask from the other room. He stretched his arms up above his head while he walked into the room. He looked up to see her standing on top of a ladder trying to put decorations on the top of the large tree she had Alayna's parents help bring in.

"Maybe I should do that for you?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at the way she was leaning on the ladder.

"No, absolutely not. After seeing how you ruined my roof-which took an extra week to fix because of you-there is no way I can trust you to properly decorate something! I wasn't kidding that day I asked why Santa ever let you in his workshop!" He huffed and crossed his arms.

"See if I ever offer to help again." She rolled her green eyes at him and stood up straight on the ladder to look down at him, her hands on her hips.

"Oh don't get your panties all in a twist." He frowned up at her as a staring contest ensued between the two of them. He was pretty sure she was going to win when her eyes suddenly went wide and her head snapped to look at the window. Lyra had gotten better with ignoring the strange voice that had appeared, but it's shrill scream made her jump in surprise. The sudden movement caused her to lose balance; the ladder tilting to the side with her. Jack dropped his staff and jumped up quickly catching her in his arms at an odd angle as she fell. The odd angle he caught her caused them both to tumble forward onto the floor.

Jack huffed in irritation as he pushed himself up to glare at the clumsy girl underneath him. Lyra's face turned solid red at the _predicament_ they were currently in. Both their legs were tangled in each others, Jack laying on top of her with his hands on either side of her as he lifted himself up. She could feel his cool breath against her face he was so close. Jack realized why she was blushing after a moment of processing and started to blush himself. He cleared his throat and went to move when a loud bang echoed from the chimney across the room. Black soot flew into the air-Lyra hadn't used the fire place in quite sometime- and loud coughing was heard by both of them.

Jack face turned redder when he saw the Guardians-minus North who appeared from the chimney- all entering the room from different areas(windows or holes from the floor), and nearly died from embarrassment at the expression they all got when they saw him on top of a defenseless girl.

"Jack Frost! You are on the naughty list forever! How dare you do…_that_ to a girl who cannot even see you!" Jack winced at North's booming Russian voice bouncing around the room. The other three guardians were too in shock at the boys actions to properly say anything.

"N-No wait you have it all wrong! I'm sorry! It's just…she was…I tried!" He was tripping over his words, stuttering, and trying desperately to explain the situation to the people he had so desperately been trying to get in contact with. It would figure they would show up at the most inopportune moment. Jack's inability to speak was covered up after a moment of loud laughing from the girl underneath him.

"Oh man! Haha! Jack you should have just seen your face! It was priceless! I wish I had a camera." Lyra was laughing so hard she had tears forming in her eyes. Jack moved himself off of her as she clutched her stomach trying to figure out how to breathe.

"Wait…did she just say his name?" Tooth asked in shock as she Jack scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"Oh come off it Lyra. Stop laughing would you! This is so not funny." Jack complained causing the girl to laugh even harder.

"She can see 'em." Bunny piped in. "She a believer? At her age? Impossible, mate."

North's eyes turned soft as he smiled at the two children picking at each other on the floor. "Ah, I see. I wonder if this is what I think it is?" He mumbled to himself as he stroked his long white beard.

"Jack my boy!" Jack and Lyra quieted down to look at the guardians. Sandy floated over to Lyra, sand in the shape of a hand forming over his head, as he held his actual hand out to Lyra. Lyra smiled and took it, saying hello back to the golden man. His grin grew at her being able to see and touch him.

"What took you guys so long. I've been trying to get your attention for three weeks you know." Jack stood up and grabbed his staff from where he had dropped it on the floor to try and catch Lyra. He dusted his hoodie off and rolled his shoulders. "I haven't been able to fly for three weeks after a nightmare attacked me! The weird part is the damn thing didn't even touch me, and I still crashed through the roof! By the way, did you know that buildings are solid as hell?"

"My, got a foul mouth all of a sudden, eh mate?" Lyra held her hand up into the air.

"That's my fault! I'm in the process of remedying that, so forgive me." Sandy chuckled, a small chimed emitting from the short man instead of an actual chuckle. Jack merely shrugged.

"The point here I'm trying to make here is Pitch is-" Jack started to rant again before being cut off by Tooth.

"Back. We know! We know. He is not alone, though, he's got help this time Jack."

"Help?" He blinked in shock wanting to know all the details they had. He gripped his staff and jumped into a defensive position when the window behind him suddenly swung open. Lyra was staring openly at the guardians before she also turned her attention to the window. A tall blonde haired man, who hair fell in front of one of his baby blue eyes, sat on the window seal looking back and forth between Jack and Lyra with a smug smirk. Lyra felt herself blush deeply at the sight of the man.

"My my my what do we have here? Really Frost, I must say you have good taste." Lyra blinked as Jack groaned loudly in annoyance.

"Not you. Why are you here? Oh North please tell me Man in Moon didn't pick him as a guardian. It's bad enough working with the Kangaroo, but rainbow boy too?"

"Rainbow boy? What kind of a name is that, exactly?" Cupid raised at eyebrow at Jack not at all liking the name he was given. Especially in front of such a cute girl.

"I'm a bunny!" Bunny yelled from behind Jack but he paid no mind to it.

"With the way you dress and act you're closer than gay than most gay guys. Hence the name." Cupid suddenly growled earning a smirk from Jack.

"Enough!" Lyra suddenly yelled and stood up, causing everyone in the room to fall silent. "You obviously have a lot of important matters to discuss. From the way everyone is talking there is something dangerous out there and you really should stop fighting each other and work together to stop it. Now, if you need to catch up on everything that is going on why don't you all go to the kitchen and sit down. I'll make…" She paused and looked at North for a moment then looked at Bunny. "Some cookies and see if I have some carrots?" She weakly supplied.

"Cookies! I do believe you have found yourself a good one here Jack!" North laughed before patting the boy roughly on the back nearly making him fall face forward to the ground.

"Aye, I do believe I'd like one of those carrots lass. Where is the kitchen?" Bunny looked at Lyra to see her unable to answer as Tooth's fingers were shoved inside her mouth cooing at how healthy her teeth currently were. Baby Tooth flew over to Jack and rested on his shoulder, nuzzling his neck lovingly in a form of hello. Jack found himself laughing at the oddities of his friends.

"Tooth, come on and stop attacking her would ya?' Jack chipped in trying to save Lyra from the torture he usually endured from the fairy woman. Tooth pulled away embarrassed at herself and apologized, but not before saying how lovely Lyra's teeth were. Cupid walked, or more like glided in Lyra's opinion, over to her before taking her hand into his and lifting it up to his lips where he placed a soft kiss on the back of it. Lyra blushed from the action, but blushed even more when he smiled softly to her.

"Ma'am, it is my pleasure to be welcomed into your home. I am so sorry that you have had to deal with such an idiotic child for such a long duration. Do not fret, we'll remove him from your hair shortly. In the mean time, you can call me Lance. I'm officially known as Cupid, however." He winked at her playfully.

Jack's hands tightened around his staff until his knuckles turned white(if that's even possible with how pale his hands already were), before he pushed himself in between Lyra and Cupid. He glared darkly at the blonde man causing Cupid to smirk deviously.

"Oh Jack, is there a problem?"

"Stay away from Lyra. Consider it a warning." With that said Jack turned Lyra around and started lightly pushing her towards the kitchen. Lyra was shocked by the sudden hostility from the boy but lost track of it as a small whimpering voice entered her mind once more.

Anymore of this voice and she was sure she was going to go crazy.

North chuckled to himself and nodded as he watched the reaction Jack had to Cupid's sudden interest in Lyra. "This shall be epic indeed!" He laughed before following the group into the kitchen.

* * *

"So you said your brother's name is Leon?" Jack asked Lance as he leaned back in his chair mulling over all the information they had given him. Lance nodded.

"Leeeoooonn!" Lyra cried out in a whiney voice before realizing the others were looking at her. She laughed and waved it off. "Don't mind me, just making fun of Resident Evil 4." They obviously had no idea what she was talking about so she just placed the plate of cookies she had on the table and laughed at herself instead.

"Anyway. What exactly is he capable of? I mean I've never even heard of him."

"My brother is the opposite of me I guess you can say. I live off love and happiness, where as he thrives from jealousy and anger. Sometimes jealousy is a good thing, after all it helps up to see what is important to us at times, so back in our early days I hadn't realized just how dangerous my brother was. After he fell in love with Aria the wind sprite, his powers grew darker than usual when she didn't return the sentiments. He begged me to change her heart, but when I refused he started harming children and adults alike until he was finally sealed away by Aria, myself, and the Man in the Moon. He's been vowing revenge ever since then, particularly on Aria, but none of us actually expected him to escape."

"We're assuming he was able to escape the night you lost your ability to fly Jack. When Aria was taken down not only did the seal disappear but so did your ability to fly. Not to mention the wind currents have been all over the place ever since. Cupid and myself are still able to fly with our wings, but it does prove difficult at times." Tooth sighed sadly before looking to one of her baby fairies and directing them on where to find another child's tooth.

"So how am I still able to float around? Or North able to use his sleigh? Isn't that controlled by Aria as well?" Jack scratched his head looking out the window to see the sleigh actually parked properly for once.

"It's not the same. Aria gifts magic to those she chooses. She gifted you and North your abilities to fly or glide or whatever you both do. You do that with your own magic. You control that. But you weren't fully gifted the power to fly Jack, it was why when you called to the wind it responded and took you where you wanted to go. She still wanted to keep contact with others in this world, so she gladly answered your call, but if she had given you the full ability to do it yourself then you wouldn't have needed her around." Jack nodded in understanding.

"Why did I never meet her then? Seems odd to constantly help someone but never introduce yourself." Lance sighed heavily and found the details of the wall near him to be very interesting.

"Aria was shy child. I only met her once and that was to gift me." North muttered around a mouth full of cookies.

"Aria was terrified of others. She never told me the details, but her human life had been quite bad. She wanted to meet you. I never understood her desire to see someone so annoying, but her fear stopped her from ever speaking to you." Jack frowned deeply. Someone scared of him? It was a painful thought, honestly. No one ever saw him, and that was painful in itself, but to be afraid of him? It hurt worse than people not knowing he was there.

"So from what I've gathered you have to find Aria's sealed up powers and find them a new host if you want to be able to properly fight against these Pitch and Leon people right?" Lyra supplied making sure she had kept up with everything. She was leaning against the counter seeing as the guardians all took up her kitchen chairs.

"Aye, but it's not an easy feat lass." Bunny said rubbing his stomach now full of carrots happily. "We'll have to go back to the Pole and start spreading out our search. We have been looking, but we were.." Bunny trailed off with a contemplative expression. "…a bit distracted." He lowly finished. Meanwhile, Sandy signaled some fast sand symbols over his head to Lyra.

"Sorry Sandy, but that's not really understandable.." Jack trailed off with a smile hoping to not irritate the mute guardian too badly.

"No I understood." Lyra smiled softly before going to the fridge and pouring him another glass of milk. He smiled up at her and held a thumbs up to her causing her to laugh and return the gesture.

"You understood that?" Everyone looked at her oddly but she waved her hand at them. "I'm used to stuff like that. Anyway, judging from the context clues Bunnymund was giving I'm assuming he's saying they haven't found Aria because everyone was worried about you Jack."

Bunny muttered something dark under his breath, his pride taking hold and trying to deny he was ever worried about the brat.

"So then I'm guessing we should head to the Pole and get to work." Lance said mostly to North who was wondering if he could get Lyra to make some more cookies for the road home.

"The Pole?" Jack suddenly looked nervous as his eyes flew over to Lyra briefly. He wasn't leaving forever, after all this was his home now, so why did his stomach suddenly knot up nervously at the thought of leaving her here? Lance noticed the sudden anxiety in the boy and couldn't help the smirk that appeared on his lips.

"Is there something we need to know Frosty?" Jack snapped to attention and glared at him.

"No, why?"

"Then there's no problem with us leaving now, right? Let us go." He stood up and walked over to Lyra and bowed deeply before once again kissing the back of her hand. "My lovely Lyra, you're warm heart and hospitality has won me over and I must say I am so thankful to have been a guest here. I do hope that one day you and I can meet again." Lyra blushed deeply and stuttered out a sure as a response.

Jack felt his blood boil. He had no idea _why_ he hated Cupid doing that, he just really hated it. North busted out laughing before stealing the girl from Cupid and hugging her tightly.

"Lyra you are on nice list this year. I will bring you gift on Christmas so stay good." He sat her back down before heading out to get the sleigh ready. Bunny stood up and nodded to the girl before tapping his foot on the floor and making a hole.

"Nice meeting a lass like yerself. Not everyday you see someone who can deal with that show pony. I'll take my leave before I'm forced onto that bloody contraption again." Lyra didn't even get to say good bye as he jumped into the hole and disappeared along with it.

"Lyra remember to floss okay!" Lyra was shocked everyone was leaving so quickly, but hugged the fairy none-the-less.

"I'm sad everyone is leaving so soon. I was really enjoying the company." She turned her attention to Jack who stood in front of her looking guilty. Cupid had gone outside, but was at the window with North and Tooth watching the scene unfolding inside like little spies.

"Jack?"

"Lyra I'm sorry. I don't mean to leave you but I can't take you with me. It's too dangerous." Lyra laughed and playfully punched his shoulder. He looked shocked for a moment before pulling on her cheeks in return. "What was that for?" He grumbled.

She smiled brightly at him before holding her fist up for him to pound it. He bumped his own fist against her.

"Go get 'em Jack. Just come home safe, okay? I'll be here waiting for you." There was that warm feeling again. The one he got every time he was invited to come back home.

He smiled softly to her and winked. "When I get back though, I'll be sure to crash land through the wall instead of the roof this time." Her smile turned into a scowl.

"You break my house anymore and you'll be paying for the repairs." They both laughed and he ruffled her hair playfully before heading to the door with her. North, Cupid, and Tooth quickly flung themselves over to the sleigh to look busy and pretend they hadn't been spying.

Jack ran over to the sleigh with them, hoping in ready for the rollercoaster ride he had grown to love. Lyra stood on the porch, trying her best to ignore the snow surrounding her, and waved at them as the sleigh started to take off.

"Be safe all of you! Come back anytime if you want!" North laughed loudly as the others waved while the sleigh lifted into the air and out of sight.

"You've found yourself a good girlfriend Jack." North loudly said causing everyone on the sleigh to laugh-except for Jack.

He turned bright red and spun on North. "That's not it at all!" He practically screamed causing everyone to laugh harder.

* * *

Lyra's chest felt empty as they disappeared out of sight into the sky. The loneliness that had filled her after her grandfathers death came back full swing and it took everything in her to let Jack go and do what he was meant to do. After all, he was the winter spirit and guardian of fun and she was just a regular human girl.

She walked inside to escape to the cold air and sighed happily at the warmth. She looked around her kitchen and started cleaning up the mess left from her visitors.

"Calm down Lyra. They'll come back eventually." She said to herself trying to cheer herself up. "I know what we need!" She turned and popped a CD into her CD player, letting the music blare loudly as she got to work on cleaning everything up.

'_Lyra.'_ Lyra dropped the plate she was holding, it falling down and shattering on the floor, as her head turned to look out the window in the direction she felt that voice calling her from. For three weeks she had listen to it scream in agony. Three weeks she heard it whimpering for Jack to save it.

Never, not once, had it said her name.

"_**Seriously Lyra, if you hear any voices again don't chase them. Promise?" **_Lyra remembered Jack saying to her the night she first heard it. He had looked so worried about it that she tried to let it go. He had said it was probably Pitch trying to get to him, but she could _feel_ it was something else.

And this something else _really_ wanted her to come to it.

"I'm sorry Jack. You're barely gone an hour and I break my promise to you." She spoke to the air around her before grabbing her jacket and shoes and heading out into the snow. She looked in the direction she had run that night before running into the tool shed and grabbing a flash light and a shovel. She gripped the handle of the shovel tightly before heading down into the woods, a soft breeze guiding her along.

'_Lyra, please._' Lyra groaned softly as the voice kept getting louder and urging her on into the woods. She carefully slid down the hill she had fallen down that night and looked at the creek to see it was no longer frozen over. She maneuvered her way across some conveniently placed rocks and started walking further into the woods.

Lyra walked a good thirty minute into the woods-the place she lived in would be considered the boondocks to some-each minute the voice urging her on further and further. Her clothes were becoming soaked from the surrounding snow and her finger tips and nose were numb from the chill of the air.

She climbed up a small hill mentally begging that she be close to the destination soon. She wasn't even sure she could get out of the woods, after all, she had been walking for quite a while. She pulled herself up onto the top of the hill and fell to her hands and knees trying to catch her breath.

'_Thank you Lyra. I was so lonely._' The voice said causing her look up and gasp at what lay before her.

* * *

**Author's Note: Hope everyone had a good holiday! Here's my present to you, a cliff hanger ;D Yeah XD Thank's for the reviews and follows and favorites. It was a wonderful present for me and one of the best I got!**


	6. Chapter 6: Protection And Crushes

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or the characters associated with it. I merely own my strange OC's.**

* * *

There was that movie that Lyra remembered a bunch of people complaining about because at the end of the movie the main character discovered that everything had been a dream. She couldn't for the life of her remember the name of that movie though.

Either way, she was just glad that this situation had been exactly like that dumb movie was. It had all been just some weird, messed up dream. She hadn't left her house as it was nearing dark. She hadn't grabbed a shovel and trampled out into the freezing weather. She hadn't chased after some strange, mysterious voice that was calling for her.

It had all just been some sick dream.

At least, that's what she wished she could say right at this moment.

"This is just some really messed up Fatal Frame incident waiting to happen. Oh, maybe it's Silent Hill. Oh god, I don't want to be in either one of them!" Lyra was back down at the bottom of the hill she had climbed, currently curled up in the fetal position, as fear struck down her body. She was hiding and mumbling to herself in a rant much like the one she had the night that Jack had fallen through her roof. The back of her green eyes stung as tears started forming.

'_Lyra. You're safe. Please, we don't have much time.'_ Lyra winced and threw her hands over her ears willing the voice to stay out of her head.

"I'm still trying to figure out if I should call 9-1-1 so stop talking to me you strange voice!" She attempted to sound determined and brave, but her voice shook as she yelled into the air.

'_Don't you think you should have freaked out like this the first time you heard my voice?'_ The voice sighed at Lyra and she felt her irritation build up. Lyra slowly peeled herself away from the fetal position and looked up the hill. She swallowed loudly before crawling back up the hill again. Her breath was jagged, her hands numb from the cold, and she was pretty sure she'd end up with a cold after being out in this weather for so long without properly clothing up.

Lyra got back to the top of the hill glad to see her shovel was still where she dropped it. She grabbed it and stood up with a defensive stance ready to attack incase the thing she saw popped up and tried to get her.

She looked in front of her to see another person. The person was sprawled out across the snow, though it was as if the body was floating on top of the snow instead of laying in the snow. It was a small girl, looking to be around nine years old, her long off white hair laying in tangles all around her body. Her lifeless, gray eyes stared in the direction of where Lyra was standing. Lyra felt like they were looking at her soul even though it was evident that the eyes no longer actually saw anything. Her face was round with perfect skin and small nose. She wore a solid white gown the was down to her knees and had long sleeves. Lyra thought she looked absolutely beautiful for a child, however, she knew not to trust the pretty kid face because they were always the first to want to eat brains when they turned into zombies.

Lyra gripped the shovel tighter and moved closer to the girl. She sat down on her knees when she was beside her before reaching out and gently feeling her neck for a pulse. Her hand shook when she found none.

"Strange voice, please, what do you want from me?" She shakily asked the air again. Oh what she wouldn't give for Jack to be back and here with her. She'd make him deal with this and she'd go home and pretend like it never happened.

'_I'm out of time. It's taking everything in me to communicate with you right now. Please, I must ask for your help. My powers need to be protected until a new host can take them as theirs. I beg you. Please help me._' Realization hit Lyra like a ton of bricks as she stared down at the small girl in front of her.

"Aria!" Lyra dropped her shovel not feeling threatened anymore. "You're the wind sprite aren't you? You mean to tell me I find you _right_ after Jack leaves to find you? Oh the irony."

'_I tried calling out to him. I guess I wasn't strong enough for him to hear me though. But yes, I'm am in a sense Aria. Yet, at the same time, I am not Aria. She is dead._'

As the voice said this Aria's body slowly faded away turning into small glittering pieces that floated together. Lyra jerked back in fear not knowing what was going on. She watched as a golden orb appeared. The gold soon faded away and left there was a palm sized version of what Aria had just looked like. She was in the fetal position constantly spinning in a slow turning circle. It was like watching a snowball roll down a hill. A steady wind spun around her in a perpendicular circle that Lyra could feel the effects of just sitting near her.

"Is this the powers of Aria? How am I supposed to help? Just call Jack?" Lyra moved closer to the orb and reached her hands out to hold the orb noticing that the wind spinning around it made holding it to be a weird ordeal. It was like she was making the orb float in her hands like a magician.

'_You must be the one to find the new host, Lyra. I only have enough spare strength to cast the protection charm on us right now. If I wait any longer then it will be too late. You are the only one who can watch and protect me. If you give me to another person then my location will be detectable and I will no longer be safe. Please Lyra, can I trust you to protect me and find the new host?_' Lyra stared at the small girl spinning in the orb. She smiled softly to it before lifting it up to eye level.

"You might not have met him personally, but you were an important part of Jack's life. So yes, I promise you I will protect you with my life until I can find the person who can resurrect your powers."

'_I thank you Lyra. I will now use the rest of my strength to cast a protection charm on us. This will make it so that when I am with you I cannot be found. This will also keep you safe from being discovered until you can finish you promise. Thank you, so very much._' Lyra gasped softly as a strong wind formed from the orb in her hands before circling around her body. She briefly saw ribbon like material with strange writing surround her, but it disappeared seconds later as the wind slowly went back to it's soft flowing around Mini Aria(as Lyra officially dubbed her).

The woods became eerily silent and dark after Mini Aria stopped talking. Lyra looked around her to notice the night was fully upon them, but the woods was still well lit from the full moon above her. She looked up to admire the bright moon before smiling softly and grabbing her shovel.

Time to follow her foot prints back home and find a way to call Jack.

It was then that she realized she had no idea how to get a hold of Jack. She groaned loudly and stomped her foot.

"I thought of a brilliant plan to get the Guardian's attention, but that only works when I have a winter spirit!" She heard a twig snap from the wood behind her causing her to spin and search for movement in the trees. She looked for a good minute before assuming it must have been an animal. With a sigh she looked at Mini Aria in her hand.

"Well Mini Aria, let's go home." With that she headed into the moon lit woods hoping to find her way back home.

* * *

Jack stared out the window of North's Workshop as the other Guardians and Lance stood around the globe deciding who would search what area. He knocked the bottom of his staff on an elf that was waddling past him, freezing it and letting it fall to the floor with a thud, before looking over at the others with a bored expression.

"Would you seriously just pick already! You've been fighting over who is going to look where forever now. I'm bored…" He muttered. "This is absolutely no fun at all. I should have just stayed home."

"Home, you say?" Jack slowly looked over to where Lance was standing. One of his eyebrows was raised in curiousness as he stared Jack down. Jack remembered why he couldn't stand lover boy.

"Why are you looking down on me like that? I said home, you know? That place where people live and do their normal living things? I'm sure you have one too. In fact, Rainbow boy, why don't you just flutter your tiny wings back there and let us handle this. This is Guardian work anyway." Jack made a shooing motion with his hand. Lance snorted and rolled his eyes.

"You're an extremely annoying one, you know. You pick and choose the people who are fun in your eyes and automatically send away the other ones. You won't get far in life with that attitude."

"No, don't get me wrong. The Kangaroo and I are good friends, you're just not welcomed." Jack toothily grinned at him.

"Ah, is this because I flirted with your girlfriend?" Jack tensed a great deal. Why had they all been constantly teasing him about Lyra being his girlfriend? She was just a really cool girl who was fun to hang out with! That still didn't stopped the blush from appearing on his pale cheeks.

"Aye, yer blushing Snowflake. Must really like the lass." Bunny chimed in. Jack slammed his staff down on the ground send out a chilly wave of icy on the floor-catching a few elves in the process. North huffed about him always destroying his workshop.

"It's not like that! Would you guys just drop it!"

"You ask us to drop it, yet you are so determined to go _home_ to her Jack. Listen to yourself. I don't mind love, after all it is my specialty in life, but Jack be reasonable. She is a _human_. She will age where as you will not. More importantly…"

"Just shut up Cupid!" Jack gripped his staff tightly, not at all liking what the other immortal was saying. He didn't want to hear such things. His stomach felt knotted up with each word the blonde said.

"Jack you need to accept that sooner or later that girl will die. What will you do then?"

Jack gritted his teeth tightly before swinging his staff and blasting a cold bolt of ice at Lance. Lance anticipated the attack and side stepped the ice letting it crash into a pile of freshly painted toys. A nearby yeti groaned loudly, tossing his paint brush up into the air, before slamming his head down on the desk he had been working on.

Jack had stormed off out of the workshop out into the snowy weather to get a deep breath of cold air. He sat down right outside the door and enjoyed the feeling of the snow beneath him. He took several deep breaths, working on clearing his mind of the irritation he felt before looking up and seeing the moon above him. It felt like the moon was always here when he was at the North Pole. He wondered in Manny would tease him too about Lyra. He snorted at the idea of him ever speaking for something simple like that.

"Come on." He spoke up to the moon while staring at it. "Where is Aria? I want to get this whole ordeal taken care so I can hang out with her just a little longer. I'm not ready to say goodbye to her yet. Just like I'm not ready to say goodbye to Jamie and the others yet. It's been…It was so long I was alone…" He sighed loudly and lowered his head.

"My my Jack, it's been a while since I've seen you sweetie. Why are you sulking out here by yourself?" A British accent reached Jacks ears. Jack looked beside him to see a tall woman bundled up in a large winter jacket with a beanie hat, ear muffs, and scarf that matched. They had strange Christmas tree designs on them and he could barely see the woman underneath it all.

"Carol. How have you been?" She smiled causing him to smile back.

"Come inside with me Jack. We'll make some Cocoa for everyone." Jack couldn't tell the woman no so he stood up and followed her back into the workshop.

"How come you were outside Carol?" He questioned while she started disrobing all her winter wardrobe.

"Oh I was just taking a walk. It's nice to get out of the workshop on occasion, but I'm sure you of all people understand that." She giggled softly as she hung up her jacket finally. Jack admired how beautiful the woman was. Her face was angular, her lips a thin line, and her eyes a deep hazel color. She was as thin as a stick, and as much as Jack hated it a couple inched taller than him. She had curly brunette hair that hung down past her thigh.

This was the infamous Mrs. Claus. Though how a guy like North ever landed a woman like Carol Jack would never fully understand.

"Yeah I know." He scratched the back of his head and looked back around the workshop.

"You're not as bouncy as usual, Jack. Whatever is bothering you sweetie?" She politely asked as they made their way towards the kitchen to prepare the cocoa.

"Nothing really. Just dealing with people teasing and poking fun at a non-existent relationship between a friend of mine and myself." He shrugged and tapped his staff against an ornament hanging nearby thus freezing it and knocking it off the wall. He smiled sheepishly when it fell causing Carol to shake her head at him.

"It's just playful teasing. The only time it should bother you is if there is something actually there, sweetie." Jack scowled and jumped up onto the counter to stand while she got to work with the stove.

"I mean she's a good friend and I have fun with her, but that's it. She's important to me, after all, she the first person my age to ever see me."

"Is she cute?" Carol asked off handedly. She was a woman, an old woman who dealt with Santa Claus, Yetis, and crazy cookie nabbing elves on a daily basis. She knew how to get details she wanted out of people.

"She's pretty, yeah. In that young, geeky type way. It's a good pretty. She's not sickly beautiful like those people they put on billboards and such. I like her pretty more than that." Carol giggled and nodded in understanding.

"Why do you want to go back so quickly then? Why not just visit like you do with Jamie?" Jack considered it for a moment and sighed.

"She's home." Carol looked at him in shock before a looking at him with a warm gaze. "I've lived between here and the lake so often. I travel around all over the place. And you guys offered me a room, sure, but she offered me a home. She told me she'd be waiting for me to come home. I want to go to that offer." It had been over three hundred years since someone asked him to come home. He wanted to enjoy it for as long as he could.

"Jack, it's okay to like someone. You shouldn't let the boys bother you. They're just a bunch of old grumps anyway." Jack laughed and she playfully winked at him.

"This, Carol, is why you are actually the woman of my dreams and I shall have no other." He smirked and lifted her hand to kiss the back of it.

"Oh my Jack, getting better with the flattery, I see."

"Rainbow boy makes for a good example." They both laughed before he drifted back into thought again. "Besides, I'm not really looking for love. I'm not even sure what love looks like. I've thought people were pretty and all but they could never see me so that would never have worked. I've never had a crush, never dated anyone. I wouldn't know what it was like." He shrugged and sighed.

"Trust me Jack, when you get that warm feeling in your body. That tightness in your chest when your heart starts beating really hard. That up most happiness that person, and that person only, can make you feel. It's impossible to miss it. You'll know when it comes." Jack couldn't help but notice a few of these traits slightly happened with Lyra.

"Eh, can't I just say love and relationships are icky and girls have cooties?" He grinned at her. She poured the cocoa into cups and gave him a scolding look.

"We do not have cooties, young man." He laughed floated around the kitchen on his back.

"I will say this. If I ever have to figure out what love is, even though she's human, I'd rather it be Lyra than some of these other girls these days."

That statement was all Carol needed to understand where the boys were coming from with all their teasing. Until Jack figured out his feelings, however, she'd try to keep them off his back.

"You shouldn't worry too much about the human part, Jack. If you love someone strong enough, and if they love you back just as strongly, Man in Moon can sometimes be generous. After all, how do you think I got here.' She smiled and winked at him before carrying a tray of hot cocoa to the globe room for the others.

Jack was left floating in the kitchen with one thought on his mind.

What had North and Carol done to get Man in Moon to recognize their love enough to let Carol join North in immortality.

* * *

**Author's Note: Sorry this is shorter than the other ones. And sorry it's late! I had company down so I never got a chance to write! I'll try to get the next chapter up really soon! Thanks again for reading everyone! I love you all so much ;D**


	7. Chapter 7: Feverish Fear

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or the characters associated with it. I merely own my strange OC's.**

* * *

A loud sneeze echoed through the Greenhill house as Lyra dragged herself to her medicine cabinet in search for cold medicine. Sure enough, after she had finally gotten home two nights ago and gotten warm she woke up the next morning feeling absolutely miserable. Her head felt like there was a huge pressure that was squeezing her brain. Her nose couldn't decide if it wanted to be runny or stopped up. Her throat felt hot and scratchy and no amount of cold drinks could seem to cool it down.

Absolute hell, in her opinion. She was just thankful it wasn't the flu.

The kids would be getting home from school soon so she was in the process of trying to get out of her pajama's and figure out how to fully function. She plopped down into a kitchen chair after grabbing some medicine and a cold glass of water. She swallowed the pills quickly, groaning and nearly letting her head fall the to the table beneath her wondering if knocking herself out would make her feel less horrible. Instead, she looked at the mason jar on the table containing a certain spinning orb she had placed inside with a few holes poked into the lid. After searching for what to do for Mini Aria for almost an hour after getting home Lyra finally came to the conclusion she would be a little safer with the jar than just hanging out on her table.

It also made carrying her around with her less awkward and much easier.

Though she wasn't sure how to find Aria's new host. She supposed she could go into town, hold the jar up, and randomly ask strangers to rub her jar. Just practically scream at them 'RUB MY JAR'. While it was an extremely amusing thought and would probably make for a good youtube video she was sure she probably wouldn't get far by doing that.

It was still pretty funny to imagine though.

Mini Aria had been silent ever since that night. It was nice to not have a strange voice in her head, but Lyra still was a bit disappointed she was talking to herself again. She did notice there were boundaries of how far she was allowed to get from Mini Aria before the protection charm started going a-wire. If she went too far away the strange ribbon's that surrounded her would reappear briefly signaling to Lyra that she needed to get closer to make sure the charm wasn't broken. It was a nice perk because Lyra was sure she'd have broken the charm at this point otherwise.

Lyra was snapped out of her thoughts as the kids came loudly into the house. She glanced at the clock and realized that it was already time for them to be home.

"Girl, you look worse than my momma does after she comes home from work." Lyra gave a pointedly sarcastic stare to Ebony for the comment. She stood up and sneezed loudly, a chorus of bless you coming from the children, before walking over and opening her cabinets to see what she had for their snacks.

"Lyra, I lost a tooth at school today." She looked down to see little Blake holding up a tooth, his other hand pulling his lip up to show where the tooth was supposed to be.

"We'd like to say he lost it in an eventful heroic act-"

"But unfortunately it was just an apple that took the tooth out." The twins chimed in looking disappointed. Alayna was already sitting at the table studying something that had greatly caught her attention.

"Wow Blake, did you know the tooth fairy will bring you some money if you put your tooth under your pillow tonight?" Blake's eyes lit up and he nodded happily.

"I know! I hope I get a lot of money!" Lyra smiled softly before turning her head and sneezing again. She groaned softly and willed her head cold to go away.

"Hey Lyra, what's this?" Lyra turned her attention to Alayna studying the jar on her table. He hand was reaching out for it when Lyra cried out for her to not touch it. Alayna jerked back in surprise, not used to Lyra snapping so suddenly, and looked upset at doing something wrong. Lyra smiled softly and walked over to lift the jar from the table.

"Sorry sweetie, I didn't mean to snap. It's just this jar has a protective spell on it that makes it so only I can touch it. I didn't want you to break the magic is all." Alayna frowned in thought as she looked inside the jar.

"But what is it?"

"Oh man don't tell me it's something that's going to make me think we're all on crack again." Lyra blinked and spun on Ebony.

"Excuse me? You know how I feel about such talk! I tell you if that brother of yours doesn't stop teaching you these things." Lyra growled out. Ebony apologized softly before purposely directing Lyra's attention back to the jar by asking again what it was.

"This is a friend of Jack's. I am trying to get a hold of him so he can come back and get her. I call her Mini Aria." Lyra stated proudly.

"A friend of Jack's? How come you have to call him? Isn't he still here?" Blake seemed disappointed that the winter spirit was gone. After the snowball fight that first day, Blake had opened up a great deal to Jack. It made Lyra smile because the small boy didn't have many friends besides the kids here.

"Well actually! Would you believe the other night Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman, the Easter Bunny, and Cupid all came here to my house to pick him up? It was so cool!" The kids all gasped in surprise. Lyra was suddenly assaulted by tons of questions about what they were like, how come they didn't get to meet them, and would they get to see them if they stayed at her house and waited for Jack. She tried to shove her headache down into the dark recesses of her mind and answer all their questions.

"Listen up kiddos, I'm feeling really bad today so here's the deal. We'll sit down and talk about my adventure with meeting everyone, and I'll answer your questions if you're quiet and polite. But first…" Lyra turned her attention to Blake and smiled.

"Blake, when you put your tooth under your pillow tonight can you put a note I'm going to write with it? That way I can get Jack to come home." She smirk in triumph at how _conveniently _Blake had lost his tooth so close to her needing to contact the Guardians. She thanked whatever kind spirit had blessed her with such luck. Little did she know somewhere the Moon was shining brightly.

* * *

Baby tooth was fluttering her way back to the North Pole from the Tooth Palace after dropping off a recent tooth delivery. After Tooth had announced that Blake had lost the tooth Jack personally asked Baby Tooth to be the one to look after it. She was glad to have done something for Jack so Baby Tooth took her responsibility more serious than her usual seriousness(which was pretty serious in her opinion).

It was upon her arrival at the small boys bedroom that she found the tooth messily covered in a piece of paper. Baby Tooth had seen some strange things over her years as a Tooth Fairy assistant, so this was nothing new. She figured she'd read the note since it was nice to have the kids trying to talk to them at times. Baby Tooth was shocked that the note wasn't from Blake but the girl that Jack had been talking about for days.

The note had seemed pretty important so she supposed she'd take it back to Jack. The paper was about the size Baby Tooth was, Lyra had been sure one of the mini fairies would pick it up so she tried to make it as small as possible-so it was relatively easy to carry. She fluttered inside of the Workshop excitedly looking for her mother in the large place.

She was nearly smashed into a wall be a flying disk toy a yeti nearby had thrown. She ducked out of the way only to run face first into a waddling elf causing it to drop it's trumpet. The elf looked furious that she had knocked the trumpet out of his hand, or was it because her pointed nose accidentally stuck him? Regardless, she quickly got away from him before she was punched like they so often did to their siblings. She zoomed in and out of the other creatures of the workshop before flying straight into her mother's chest out of breath.

Tooth looked shocked for a second before cradling Baby Tooth and smiling softly. Baby Tooth looked up at her momma happily almost forgetting about the letter she was holding.

"What do you have there, little one?" Baby Tooth looked down at the letter before smiling big and patting it for Tooth to take. Tooth opened it and scanned it's contents before a frown appeared on her face. "We should find Jack."

Tooth flew around the workshop for just a short moment before she heard his very distinguished laughed echoing down a hall. She followed it and stared at the reason Jack was laughing so hard. The whole room was freezing and Lance and Bunny was currently frozen in odd positions on the floor. Lance looked like he was failing at a game of twister and Bunny's fluffy tail was reaching for the ceiling while the rest of him laid on the floor. Both frozen boys were growling at the winter spirit.

"You really should watch where you're going! You never know when Black Ice will appear!" Jack poorly joked before smiling at Tooth and waving.

"Honestly, we're supposed to be working and here you are pulling pranks on them." Tooth scolded softly. Jack shrugged and smiled as Baby Tooth flew to his side. "Oh Jack, here. Baby Tooth brought this back. She found it under Blake's pillow." Jack's ice blue eyes flashed with curiosity before he glided over and took the small piece of paper from her.

'**Dear Small Tooth Fairy Assistant, I beg you to take this to Jack. It's an emergency.**

**Jack, I know you to told me not to, but I found the voice. I need you to come home, ASAP. Please, it's imperative that you come home. Lyra.'**

Jack felt his stomach drop and his chest clench in slight fear. Hadn't she promised to _not_ follow the voice? What if this was Pitch's way of pulling him in? Maybe he had Lyra and was using her as bait? All negative thoughts surrounding the situation started pooling into his mind. What if she was in some sort of trouble?

Adrenaline started pouring through his body and he took off running to find North. He didn't even realize that he had unfroze the two boys in the room behind him. He jumped one of the railings, carefully gliding down to the lower level before running past a few yeti's and tripping over almost every elf that could possibly exist-in the back of his mind he realized why North complain about them being under boot so much. He found a second elevator type device and lifted up to the globe room to see North staring intently at the globe for some answer to Aria's location.

"I have to go to Lyra! Now!" He demanded, gripping his staff tightly and trying his best to calm his emotions down. Carol was standing near North watching Jack closely. She considered Jack to be her new soap opera so whenever Lyra was mentioned she made sure to be nearby.

"What is problem Jack?" The Russian asked noticing the change in the boy's attitude.

"Lyra sent me a note by Baby Tooth and I think she's in trouble. She was hearing a voice before I left and I told her not to follow it. I figured Pitch might have realized I was there and was trying to use her to lure me in. She promised me to not follow it, and I suppose I forgot so I just…" He suddenly reached up and grabbed his hair tightly between his fingers and pulled it. He begun pacing back and forth, anxiety taking over him. "Why did I just leave her there? I should have just stayed to make sure he didn't get to her and-"

"Woah there mate." Bunny, Tooth, and Lance finally joined the room. "You can't watch one girl everyday. She's the same as the children when it comes to Pitch. We can't always be in the same spot everyday."

"This isn't the same!" Jack nearly shouted at the rabbit.

"Calm down Jack, are you even sure it was Pitch?" Lance calmly asked. Jack's hands went in front of him in a I-don't-know-nor-care motion. After all, Leon was still out there. He didn't trust his brother when it came to messing around with people.

"North, please! You're my only form of transportation at the moment!" Jack practically begged the large man in front of him. North was frowning in thought, his arms crossed on his chest.

"What am I? Chopped Liver? My tunnels work much better than that bloody sleigh of his." Bunny scowled and crossed his arms. "Always getting forgotten around here…" He muttered darkly. Tooth patted his shoulder softly.

"Jack, use snow globe." North handed him the one that he had in his pocket. "You and Cupid go to Lyra. The rest of us will continue the search plans for today. Cupid, you contact us if is serious, yes?"

"Not him…" Jack grumbled under his breath while taking the snow globe. Lance smirked and nodded to North. "I will make sure you know if there is any sight of Pitch or Leon. Come along Frosty, let us check on your girlfriend." Jack ignored the comment for once, his worry for Lyra's safety far too strong. He whispered to the snow globe before tossing it onto the floor busting it. A warp area appeared with swirling colors and sparkles. Jack didn't spare a glance at his companions before jumping into the portal. Lance saluted the other Guardians before following the youngest through the portal and into the front yard of Lyra Greenhill.

The snow had started melting ever since Jack's departure two-now technically three- days ago. There was a crescent moon above them glowing with a dark yellow tint compared to it's bright white form. Jack briefly glanced at it before running into the house. Lance quietly followed him, knowing full well that it was best to allow Jack to run on a rampage and he himself look for the danger that might be hiding in the shadows.

"Lyra!" Jack called out as he practically slammed her bedroom door open. He looked around to see she wasn't in her bed. He quickly started searching all the other rooms, calling out her name each time before he finally landed in the living room. There was a small candle burning on the table beside the sofa, the only light in the room, and Lyra was curled up on the couch under a thin blanket. Her face looked pale and Jack noticed her visibly shiver the moment he moved closer to her. A soft sigh escaped his lips seeing her sleeping and well. He sat down on his knees beside the sofa and started shaking her softly.

"Lyra. Lyra I'm home, wake up." She opened her eyes halfway to look at him. Her vision was blurry from sleep causing her to reach up at rub them. She started coughing after her throat seemed to register it was part of her body again. Once she got her throat clear, she smiled softly and reached out placed her hand on Jack's cheek.

"Welcome home." Jack felt extremely warm from her touch and her statement. After a second more of processing he realized that his face was feeling extremely hot. He reached up and grabbed her hand, before taking his other hand and feeling her forehead.

She was burning up!

"Lyra you're so hot!" Lyra smiled stupidly at him before pulling her hand back.

"Why thanks! I commonly hear that my chest and my butt are my only good attributes but I'll take me being hot as a compliment any day." Jack resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"No weirdo, you're running a fever. You're hotter than normal. Here, hold on." Jack stood up and looked at Lance. "Keep an eye on her would you? I'm going to get her some medicine." Before Lance had a chance to respond Jack was down the hallway.

"Hello there Cupid." Lyra mock saluted before curling back up into a ball and letting her eyes close. Lance was frowning as he stared at Lyra on the sofa. Something felt extremely familiar. Something was different about this girl and this room. He just couldn't place it.

"Here Lyra, take this." Jack urged Lyra holding two small blue pills and a glass of water that looked like it wanted to freeze in his hand. He was obviously holding a reign on his powers to make sure the water stayed liquid.

Lyra took a moment but managed to sit up on the sofa to allow the boys to take a seat, not that they did, before swallowing the pills and holding her head. She muttered darkly about her head hurting while Jack looked around the room to see if anything was out of the ordinary. Why had Lyra called him home? Had all his fears been false and she had just sent the letter in a feverish state? Though he was still glad to have come home if she was sick, he supposed. He reached up and placed a cool hand on her forehead, a small moan of contentment coming from her as she leaned against the cold. His eyes caught a jar on the table near the candle with something odd inside of it. He reached for it with his free hand.

"Lyra what's this weird thing?"

"Jack don't touch that!" Lance yelled, appearing beside him and smacking his hand away from the jar. Jack glared darkly at the man for smacking his hand.

"What the hell Cupid?"

"Jack, language. Lance, stop screaming." A sick Lyra weakly complained about the noise around her.

"It's Aria you idiot. If you touch it then you'll break the magic charm!" Lance quietly yelled, if that was possible. Jack stared at the jar in awe.

"_That's_ Aria?" He said in disbelief. Here, all this time, he was looking for an actual girl.

"It's not Aria, it's Mini Aria. Get it straight. She's not Aria anymore. And he's right Jack, don't touch her. She cast some time of protective charm over herself and myself to keep us out of the bad guys super cool radar skills….or something." Jack frowned.

"When did you find her? Is this why you're sick?" Jack softly scowled at the feverish girl. She busted out laughing randomly, startling the boys, before answering his question.

"Oh Jack it's so funny! Would you believe I literally found her an _hour _or so after you left two days ago! Amazing, huh?" Jack stared at her blankly.

"You mean all this time you were able to figure out where Aria is, and instead I go on a wild hunt for her? Talk about holding out on me!" Jack smirked. Lyra shrugged and grabbed his other hand, placed it on her cheek, and thoroughly enjoyed his cold touch. He blushed softly but paid no mind to the feeling that fluttered through his body.

"How did you know about the charm Lance?" She blinked up at the blonde only to see him staring sadly at the jar.

"Aria is…No, Aria was always really good small charms and spells. She hid herself from me for a whole year when I upset her one time." A sad smile crossed his lips and he turned his attention out the window. "I can feel her magic still in here, but maybe that's because I knew her magic best."

"She was important to you, wasn't she?" Lyra smiled in understanding. Lance looked at her from the corner of his eye before smiling as well.

"You could say that."

"So, what does all of this charm thing mean? We can't touch her, how are we supposed to find her host?" Jack asked, also staring at the jar now.

"I thought I could carry her around town and yell 'Rub My Jar'." Lyra giggled softly. Jack snorted before chuckling as well.

"Oh man, that'll get you some looks for sure! Can we take the video camera for that?"

"That's exactly what I thought!' Both Jack and Lyra were laughing at this point.

"Well, I know three things for certain at this point." Jack and Lyra looked at Lance curiously. "First, Lyra's not Aria's new host. If I'm correct, the moment you are near the new host then…Mini Aria, as you call her, should react and go to the host. So, it's safe to say you are not the host. Second, the only person who can touch that jar is Lyra. She is her protector now so we'll have to rely on you to keep her safe at all times. But that brings me to my final revelation, which is the worse by far." Lance trailed off and stared at the two people listening to him.

"Lyra, you are now apart of the fight. You are now in more danger than ever before, and you will be until we finally defeat my brother and Pitch Black. Jack, I hope you're capable of truly protecting her as you so desperately try to do. Because, there is no going back from this."

Jack's body tensed greatly as he stared at Lance intently. He felt Lyra take his hands into her own and squeeze them. She smiled to both of the boys in front of her, determination evident in her eyes.

"Aria's last request to me was that I keep her safe and find her new host. I promised on my life I would do everything in my power to protect her. So, I must say, I'm glad to be joining the fight if it means I can help and not just sit back and pray you all stay safe. I want to fight."

Jack's teeth gritted together and he forced a small smile, squeezing her hands back. Lance smirked and sat down on the sofa beside her, his wings disappearing to make room for him to sit.

"Welcome to the club then. I'll gladly be your escort if you'd like a man instead of a boy to guide you around." Lance winked at her. Jack resisted the urge to punch him and instead smacked him upside the head with his staff. Lyra laughed softly before closing her eyes and leaning back on the sofa more.

"As much as I'm ready to be all 'This is Sparta', I'm afraid I'm going to go back to sleep now. My head is killing me."

Tomorrow, would be a new adventure…if her fever went away, of course.

* * *

**Author's Note: Sorry this is so late! It's been an interesting week, is all I'll say on that matter. ;D Anyway, I feel the pieces are all coming together and the adventure shall fully begin! I hope...My brain tends to do weird things when I'm writing so who knows XD Anyway, thank you all so very much for the wonderful reviews and all the favorites/follows! It warms my heart and makes me want to write more knowing you guys really enjoy this. Like, seriously. You have no idea I giddy I get when my phone chimes saying 'New Email' So on that note! Hope you enjoy.**


	8. Chapter 8: Dreams of Shared Homes

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or the story or the characters or anything! Comprende?**

Lyra felt light as a feather as the wind twirled around her in a comforting swirl. She breathed in deeply through her nose enjoying the crispness of the air before releasing the air slowly. She finally opened her eyes to see she was in the clouds floating above the lights of the earth. She looked up to see the stars all across the sky in a way she had never before seen them. They were brighter and the sky looked so magnificent from being so high up. The thing she noticed the most was the full moon shining bright before it was slowly covered by a large cloud.

She smiled and floated along the air at an easy pace while watching the moon be covered by the clouds. Once the cloud completely covered it, however, she felt a soft feeling of fear flow through her body. Before she had a chance to understand why she felt scared a sharp pain filled her body starting from the middle of her back and spreading out. Black sand fell into her hands from a dark slither that had made it's way over her shoulder. She spun around to see what had caused this.

A dark figure was on the back of a horse. His hair was messily slicked back, a dark robe his only garment of clothing, and his golden eyes the only form of color in contrast with his gray skin. A lump formed in her throat as fear along with pain started taking over her body.

"Pitch." She shakily spoke but her voice was not her own. She looked back down at her hands at the dark sand to see her hands were also different. The white, long sleeves she wore she couldn't remember putting on. A lock of off-white hair fell over her shoulder. It was then that Lyra realized she was not herself.

She had no control over her body as Pitch smirked an sent five horses made of sand at her. She managed to dodge them before pulling a dagger from a small sheath that was on her hip. She swung the blade up, a force of wind flying from the blade and slicing one of the horses as it charged at her again. She felt another sharp pain from her back as she used her power. A dark laugh echoed from the man watching in the distance.

"Aria, you look like you are having difficulties. I would have thought you would have more fight in you after how bravely you fought against Leon so long ago. Unfortunately, I need his assistance. That means I need you out of the way. You understand, right?" Lyra gritted her teeth as she fended off another one of his nightmares, thus, causing more pain to pulse from where he had shot her in the back. It must have been one of those arrows she had known him to use.

"I…can't let you.." Lyra's voice was really soft. It held a child-like feel to it, but she could tell in the way she spoke that the voice held a level of maturity to it.

It was then that Lyra felt a cold feeling fill her body. She wasn't sure how she knew, but it was at that moment that she knew Jack Frost was near by. Lyra knew if she could get to the boy then she could get help. Taking in a deep, shuddering breath Lyra started flying as fast as she could in Jack's direction. She could feel darkness covering her body from the point where she had been shot in her back. She could feel fear and pain trying to consume her. A dozen of nightmares started chasing after her. She constantly ducked and dodged, occasionally sending an attack out only to feel her powers drain more with each horse down. She abruptly stopped flying as Pitch appeared in front of her. He rolled his eyes and shook a finger at her.

"Aria, going to Jack Frost won't save you. In fact…" A dark smirk appeared on his lips as he snapped and sent a nightmare in the direction Lyra could feel Jack. "How about I take him out as well?" Lyra felt a protective desire surge through her body. She mentally tried to call out to him while she prepared to fight the man in front of her. Gritting her teeth in preparation of the pain, she phased into the air itself, appearing seemingly within seconds behind Pitch before swinging her blade and slicing a large part of his cheek as he attempted to dodge. He cursed darkly and grabbed at the wound. The next few moments were all a blur as Lyra was full on attacked. She fought with everything she had, slicing as many nightmares as she could, before the pain of the nightmare sand surrounding her body took control of her small form. She glared defiantly at Pitch as he propped another arrow and pointed it straight at her.

"Aria, it's time for the wind sprite to finally die. You've known I would come for you. Why were you so unguarded I wonder?" He hummed to himself in curiosity.

Lyra closed her eyes in guilt for allowing herself to be so relaxed. "You…only caught me off guard because I thought you would be powerless for some time after the Guardian's put you in your place. I see now I was wrong." Lyra started softly murmuring a soft charm under her breath; her powers forming into a small orb in her center that she could feel pulsating. A seal for a new host to take over. "You can kill me, but you will never win Pitch. Even with me gone I have faith in my friends."

"Friends? You call people you never communicate with friends? How foolish you truly are child." Pitch laughed loudly before releasing the arrow.

Lyra opened her eyes to watch the arrow fly at her. Tears fell down her cheeks as it drew closer. She heard Jack calling out in the back of her mind. She could tell he was trying to understand her desperate call to him, but for some reason he just couldn't hear her. Was it because he didn't know she existed? Just like when he called out to children who didn't believe in him?

The arrow was just about to hit her straight in the chest when she slammed her eyes shut tight and forced with all her power to reach him.

'_I'm sorry Jack._' The arrow struck, an unbearable pain shooting through her chest as her vision became darker, and she felt herself start falling to the earth below.

* * *

Lyra woke up with a deep gasp as she bolted upright in bed. She took several deep breaths trying to calm her beating heart. She swallowed loudly and nearly jumped across the room when she felt someone quickly fall onto the bed beside her. She looked at Jack in fear for a moment, causing him to look worried, before calming down and realizing it had all been a dream.

"Lyra, what happened? Are you okay?' He tried to sound calm but he was failing at it miserably. His hands went up to check her head for a fever, and he was glad to feel her temperature was back to how hot she normally felt. She had some color back in her cheeks, and besides the freaked out what she woke up she was looking normal. Lyra swatted his hand away and laid back on the bed to look at the ceiling.

"Just a strange dream is all." She looked over to see Jack's jaw tensed. She reached up and traced a finger from his cheek down his jaw line to finally cup his chin and shake it playfully. "Don't be so tense because I said I had a strange dream."

"Was it a nightmare? I swear I was in here all night. There's no way that Pitch could have gotten to you…" He trailed off as he confused himself about how Pitch could have gotten to her. She laughed softly, noticing her throat still ached but it was a dull ache. Nothing like what it had been. The pressure in her head was gone and she could think clearly. Her nose still felt a little out of order, but overall she was feeling much better than she had before.

"Not a nightmare. I just…" She looked back up at the ceiling before turning her attention to the jar that rested on her bedside table. "I saw how Aria died."

Jack stared at her for a long moment not sure how to properly respond to such a statement. "You saw Aria's death?"

"Yeah. This guy, he was really creepy looking mind you, but he attacked her from behind when she wasn't even paying attention. She fought as hard as she could, but every time she used her powers his sand would just drain more from her and cause her so much...pain." Lyra's voice was barely a whisper as she said pain. She sat up and pulled the jar into her lap, tears forming in her eyes as she looked down at Mini Aria. She hugged the jar close to her chest and started to softly cry.

"It hurt so much Jack."

Jack tensed up greatly before grabbing her and lifting her up from her spot on the bed to pull her into his lap. He hugged her close to his chest, careful of the jar and not to touch it, and began to calmly sooth to stop her crying.

"I thought you said you saw Aria's death, but now you say you felt the pain too? What kind of a dream is that?"

"I was Aria." Jack laid his head on the top of hers and rubbed her back slowly. "I was her and you were so close by. I could feel you nearby and I tried to get to you, I tried to call out to you. And then he sent that one horses after you, and I just wanted you to be safe."

"The whispering…" Jack started putting pieces together. "Lyra, you mean to tell me you actually saw her death? Like the real thing?"

"I think it was." Lyra looked at him and they stared at each other for a moment before a soft sigh left Jack's lips. He leaned his forehead against her and smiled softly.

"Well, it was just a coincidental dream, right? If something like that happens again, we'll look more into it. I'll talk to Cupid about it later." Suddenly, Jack lightly lifted his forehead from her before clonking their heads together in a head butt. Lyra yelped in pain and jerked out of his grasp, rubbing her now sore forehead before tossing the lamp on the night stand at him. He chuckled and hopped off of the bed.

"Get ready would you? We were supposed to leave yesterday but you went and slept for almost twenty-four hours trying to get all better and what not. We're behind schedule." He tapped an invisible watch on his wrist and held his hands up in a what-the-heck motion. Lyra looked at him for a moment.

"Twenty-four hours?" He nodded but shrugged. "You said you were in my room all night." She suddenly recalled causing him to nod proudly.

"I was watching to make sure you were okay-"

"That's super stalkerish and the beginning signs of being a pervert, Jack." She cut him off. He glared at her darkly.

"I was trying to be nice to you and make sure you were okay-" She cut him off again.

"Seriously, I'm surprised that Lance let you even stay in here with me. Where is he anyway?"

"Oh come on Lyra! Besides, who cares about that idiot anyway." He grumbled darkly under his breath. A strange amount of jealousy entered his body at her wanting to know where Lance was.

He just couldn't understand why he hated Lyra being near that man.

Lyra gently set Mini Aria back down on the nightstand before walking over and hugging Jack. He jerked in surprise at the sudden contact before slowly returning the gesture. Once his arms were around her, though, he found them tightening to pull her closer. He could smell her, she smelt of honeysuckles, and he had to resist the urge to bury his nose in her like he had done to his hoodie that day she washed it.

"This is sudden…" He softly said afraid to ruin the moment. She didn't pull away and instead hugged him tighter.

"Thank you for coming back, Jack. Thank you for watching over me while I was sick. Just, thank you for everything." She pulled back and smiled up at him. "I want to be there for you like you have been for me lately. So, never hesitate to tell me what's on your mind, okay? You act like all fun and games, but I can see that serious look you get in your eyes sometimes. Don't hesitate when you need someone, okay?" She pulled away and it took everything in him not to pull her back. She walked to her dresser to find some clothes before heading to the shower leaving Jack alone in his thoughts.

What was with this girl he was strangely attached to, and why did he feel more and more attached to her with each passing day?

* * *

After Lyra finished cleaning up in the shower and getting herself all ready she picked up Mini Aria and headed to her kitchen. There, she found Jack and Lance in chairs eating different things from different boxes. Both would occasionally comment on what they think tasted better than the other and then they would exchange their boxes to see if they agreed with each other.

This was by far the closest she had seen of the two getting along. She was almost afraid to ruin the moment.

She quietly walked across the room, acting like she didn't see either of the boys, and walked to the corded phone that was on the wall near the counter. She lifted it up and made a few calls to the parents of the kids. She informed them that she had to go out of town, and would most likely be gone for two or so weeks. She made up a story about how she was going to spend Christmas break with a few friends out of town, and she'd call to let them know when she got home. The story seemed to work, and soon she was all set to leave. She turned away from the phone to see two boys staring at her with mouths full of food.

"Oh would you two clean up and get ready. You were just rushing me to get ready and now you're staring at me like a bunch of hamsters!" She walked right back out the kitchen.

Jack couldn't help but smile, after he swallowed his food, before shrugging at Lance.

After a few moments, and reassurances from the boys that she didn't need to pack anything, she stood outside with both boys and a jar in her hands. Jack held up the second snow globe North had given him and whispered to his before tossing it on the ground busting it. Lyra stared in awe at the swirling portal in front of her. Jack walked closer to it, turning around and holding his hand out for her to take. She glanced nervously at Lance, who nodded for her to go on, and she took Jack's hand. He laced their fingers together, smiled, then winked as he roughly tugged her into the portal with him. Lance looked at the portal for a second, a soft smile crossing his lips at the two who went before him, before following after. The portal disappeared behind them.

* * *

Jack held Lyra upright after they landed inside of the North Pole. He knew how much of a pain it was getting used to snow globe traveling. He figured it would be a good idea to make sure Lyra didn't faceplant when she got to the other side.

He did not, however, expect her to start frantically screaming in fear at the sight of a few yetis standing nearby. Her screaming caused them to scream which overall created a super loud scream fest.

Jack finally clamped a hand over Lyra's mouth, which was a hard thing to do considering the way she was practically clinging to him, before telling her to calm down because they were Santa's helpers. She stopped screaming, but still looked petrified of the yeti's. A few elves waddled by muttering in their strange language. Once of them held a tray of half eaten cookies.

"Well that's one way to start a visit to Santa's Workshop." Lance chuckled before pushing his way through some yetis who had finally stopped screaming. Jack slowly removed his hand from Lyra's mouth, watching her carefully, before going into an explanation of everything around her.

"The yeti are the ones who build all the toys and do all the work for North. They're not going to harm you….unless your name is Jack Frost and you meet up with a specific yeti named Phil." He softly chuckled at the memory of the times he used to try and break into the workshop. She slowly started to peel herself away from him, look around curiously at the workshop.

"I thought elves were Santa's helpers?" She looked at the elves that had just walked in front of them to see them off to the side fighting over the cookies now.

"We just let them think that." Jack laughed as knocked his staff onto the ground freezing the cookie fighting elves. He lowered his staff like a gold club, got into position, and swung sending the elf flying. "FORE!" Jack yelled as the elf crash landed into a perfectly set up section of toys a nearby yeti had just painted. The yeti screamed out in frustration and threw his paint set across the room, before stomping out of the workshop completely.

"Jack that wasn't very nice." Lyra scolded the boy who was too busy laughing to pay any attention to her.

"But it makes you feel so absolutely amazing. Here!" He held her staff out for her to take. "You want to try?"

"Um, maybe later?" She avoided the staff and cautiously started walking forward. She watched the yeti's carefully, and nearly jumped out of her skin when one reached a hand out for her. She looked at it for a moment before reaching out with a shaking hand and placing her hand in his. The yeti garbled out gibberish and shook her hand softly, before turning back to the work it was doing. Lyra felt her fear of them ease considerably from the gesture.

Jack laughed at her unease and held his hand out for her again. She playfully glared at him before taking his hand. He pulled her along taking her on a grand tour of the whole workshop. Lance would most likely inform the others on what had happened so he figured he could skip the story since he knew it already. Lyra seemed mesmerized by everything and he couldn't stop smiling about the fact he was the one to show her such an amazing place.

She was smiling again and eventually she started wandering around and looking at things on her own. Almost like a little kid in a candy store.

Jack's attention was pulled away from watching her when Baby Tooth appeared beside him patting his cheek. He smiled to her as she pointed in the direction of the globe room.

"Must be time. Lyra, come on! The others are looking for us." Lyra looked over at him before smiling.

"Okay!" She ran up to him, held her hand out which caught him off guard slightly, and he took her hand and laced their fingers together before leading her to a lift that would take them to the globe room.

"This place is amazing!" She breathed out happily. Jack squeezed her hand softly.

"I know! You wouldn't believe how many years I tried to break into this place. Then randomly one day I get shoved in a bag, thrown through a portal, and asked to be a Guardian. Talk about a decrease level of excitement that story now has when I tell people how I finally got into Santa's Workshop." Lyra laughed as he sighed in disappointment.

"It could be worse. You could still be telling the story of how you failed to get into Santa's Workshop." He contemplated that idea for a moment before agreeing.

The elevator came to a stop and they stepped off to enter into the room with the large globe in the center covered in shimmering lights. Lyra stared at it.

"Those are the light of the children who believe. The ones we fight so desperately to protect." Jack answered her unspoken question. "The lights you now help protect." He said before looking at her. She noticed a mixture of emotions flash across his face before he finally took on a blank look. Lance was busy finishing the story of what had happened to the others.

"You don't like the fact I'm part of this now. I can see it in your eyes." Lyra said in disappointment. Jack winced softly before sighing. He looked at the globe for a long moment before turning his attention to her.

"I just want you to be safe. Fighting in this battle…isn't going to do that." She smiled and lifted up their hands that were joined together.

"Jack, so long as I have you by my side I know I'll be okay. Don't worry so much, because while you all may fight desperately to protect those lights you also fight to protect each other. I have faith in each and everyone of you. I think you should too." Jack lowered their hands back down and looked at all the Guardians glancing in his and Lyra's direction.

"So long as we all have each other, we can overcome anything. That type of sentiment, right?" Jack made a face and Lyra laughed.

"You like the sound of it, and you know it." He just chuckled and shrugged his shoulders.

"My lips are sealed."

"That's a first." Lyra snorted.

"Well if that's the case. How about I give to you what you have given to me." He started pulling her towards the others and grinned.

"Welcome home Lyra." Lyra couldn't help the grin that crossed her lips as Jack Frost led her to her new 'home'.

After all, home is where the heart is. So they say.

* * *

**Author's Note: So Jack and Lyra are showing a slight more affection towards each other. I almost have the urge to beat them both for being so dense and make them see reason, but alas I cannot do that yet ;-;. I figured it was time to get a little insight into Aria, and from this point on I'm sure we'll be seeing more of who Aria really was. **

**Thank you all for your reviews and follows once again! I want to personally go through and respond to each one, but I actually have dial up and my computer breaks every two seconds so I'm sorry I haven't done so!**

**I will say this though, to Cassidy who is the Guest I most definitly can't respond to, you are wonderful and I am so thankful you loved my story so much. I do hope you'll keep reading ;D **

**To the rest of you, I do plan on responding...once I find good internet! Please bare with me! I don't like leaving long Author's notes so that's why I don't put it all on here. I hope you understand D:**


	9. Chapter 9: Armor Up!

**Disclaimer: Can you guess what I'm going to say? You can! We'll I'll say it anyway. I don't Own Rise of the Guardians, it's characters, or it's story. Just my OC's I like to lock in closest and force into strange situations.**

* * *

It had been a few moments of conversation before the Guardian's just plain stared at Lyra as she lifted her mason jar up for them to see. North had frowned deeply at the state that Aria was in, Tooth covered her mouth in surprise before resting a hand on her chest and shaking her head sadly, and Bunnymund just stood with his arms over his chest. Carol placed a comforting hand on her husband's arm before smiling sadly.

"Come now everyone. Aria's sealed her powers up, that means she's still here with us!" Lyra blinked at Mrs. Claus, never having met her before now, and frowned slightly as everyone looked at her as well.

"What do you mean? She's not exactly alive at the moment, you know." Tooth tried to sound as kind with the statement as she could. Lyra noticed Lance tense up beside her from the sentence.

"What I mean is that Aria was able to keep a piece of her in this world. If she hadn't done this then she would be gone completely, but she's a strong one." Carol walked over to look at the jar and smile at Mini Aria before smiling at Lyra. "Lyra and Aria are both standing right in front of us. Lyra might not be her host, and Aria might not be able to speak and spend time with us, but both are in front of me right now. They're both preparing for a fight just like the rest of us. It might not be the same as what we can do, but every little bit counts right?"

North laughed loudly before wrapping an arm around his wife. She looked so small in comparison with the large man. "Carol is right! We cannot assume Aria has left when she is right here in front of us! It is only matter of time before she is up and well!" Lyra smiled and nodded in agreement. Lance sighed softly before turning away from everyone and heading for the elevator.

"Aria herself isn't coming back. A piece of her, perhaps, but Aria isn't. I'd rather you just let me accept that fact instead of putting false hope in the room." He calmly stated to the others before disappearing down the lift. Lyra pulled the jar tighter to her as she watched Lance go; a feeling of guilt passing through her for some reason.

"Oh Lance…" She whispered softly. Her attention turned to see Jack watching after Cupid with a strange expression. He looked like he was worried about the Spirit of Love but his pride was too strong to allow him to fully express such a sentiment. She felt a strange pulse come from the jar in her hands causing her to look down at it in curiosity.

A strange image entered her mind as she looked at Mini Aria. She felt herself standing in a well polished room. The walls surrounding her were a wonderful red, the carpet a different shade but matching perfectly to the walls. Lance stood in front of her with a soft smile across his lips. He reached out and ruffled her hair before laughing. His lips moved but she never heard the words. She lifted herself up and hugged the man around the neck earning a hug back.

She snapped back to the workshop when she felt a cool hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Jack looking at her with a worried expression. She turned her attention to the jar again, mentally questioning Aria if she was showing her these things on purpose or not. She smiled to Jack to calm his worry.

"Don't mind me Jack. I was just thinking about Aria is all." He smiled sadly before squeezing her shoulder in comfort.

"Cupid will be okay, just give him sometime."

"Lyra dear, I have heard so many wonderful things about you!" Lyra was pulled from Jack's grasp as Carol took her free hand and pulled her close. Jack looked worried for a moment as Carol attempted to practically kidnap the girl. Sandy was floating behind her grinning and holding his thumbs up. Tooth and Bunny had started a conversation that Lyra couldn't quite hear and North had run off complaining about how he was busy with Christmas in a few short weeks.

"I'm worried your version of wonderful and my version of wonderful are two different things." Lyra cautiously said as she sent a pointed look at Jack. Jack mischievously grinned and shrugged at her before whistling and acting like he wasn't the one who had spoken about her. "How many bad things has he told you?" Lyra deadpanned to the woman standing in front of her causing Carol to laugh. Her laugh reminded Lyra of bells, but not in the sense of Sandy's chiming laugh. Her laugh only caused her to want to throw something at Jack's head more.

"Nothing bad my dear! I'm glad you can stand up to a boy like him. He needs some discipline in his life." Both women sent a pointed look at Jack again causing him to put his hands up in defense.

"I'm fun and you know it." He laughed causing Lyra to shake her head.

"Besides, all he's been telling me about is how beautiful he thinks you are." Carol smirk evilly as both Lyra and Jack started blushing. Jack started stuttering out gibberish trying to deny he had ever said that. Lyra gave him a blank stare after he claimed he never said it and he felt himself in an un-climbable hole that kept getting deeper. Eventually, he just shut up. "Anyway, I'm so excited to have you as part of the team! Tooth and I were just talking about how we needed more girls around here."

"Don't all the Baby Tooth Fairies count as females? If so then we're the one's out numbered." Jack pitched in but was ignored completely.

"That being said, I think we should get you into a different outfit." Carol started walking around Lyra with calculating eyes as she looked Lyra up and down. "Let's go get your measurements and I'll get straight to work." Carol nodded excitedly. Lyra shifted nervously.

"Why are we making me new clothes? I haven't even been wearing these for a day yet." Carol just smiled to the girl before grabbing her hand and pulling her along behind her.

"My clothes are different. I enchant my clothes to protect you. A lot like armor, and since you're a human you're so much more fragile than the others are. I tried to redo Jack's wardrobe a couple of months ago but he about had a heart attack." Lyra seemed to recall a moment of him freaking out when she forced him to wash his clothes. He was more of a girl about his clothes than she was.

"I'm not sure I can wear armor." Lyra nervously said. She didn't want to discourage the woman, after all she was being really nice to her, but she wasn't exactly the strongest strength wise and all she knew about armor was that it was super heavily. Carol laughed loudly before pushing her into her sewing room and shutting the door behind her.

"I promise you it'll be just like wearing normal clothes only with a lot of style." Carol winked and Lyra sighed not one to complain when someone gave her a gift.

Carol took her measurements and sat her down in a chair while she got to work on sewing. Lyra looked around the room noticing there were no yetis or elves wandering around. Carol started softly humming a Christmas tune as her sewing machine flew at a speed faster than any human machine would go.

"So tell me Lyra, what is your connection with Jack? I saw you two holding hands earlier." Carol kept her face blank but in her mind she was doing a jig of how easy her targets had come to her. This would make watching her new soap opera so much easier!

Lyra felt her face heat up and tapped her fingers on her knee nervously. She shrugged in response to Carol while trying her best to pay attention to other things besides the question that was floating in the air. "Jack is Jack. What more is there to know?"

"Oh come on Lyra, that's not fun. Do you like him? Is he a good friend? Maybe more?" Lyra smiled and shook her head.

"He's a trouble making, kitchen destroying, roof crashing idiot who does nothing but cause trouble to those he spends time around."

"Sounds like you care about him." Carol smiled remembering a time she herself would have answered with the same response. Lyra blushed deeply and shrugged.

"He's a good guy deep down." Lyra smiled as she looked at Mini Aria. "He's not happy I'm here." Carol stopped her sewing and looked at the girl curiously.

"I would have thought he'd be glad to have you here instead of worry about you like he's done the past few days."

"He's upset because I'm in this fight. I hadn't realized he had grown so protective. I should have expected it though. He barely spent a day with the kids I watch before I noticed him taking that older brother protective stance over them. He really loves people."

"It was really hard on him. I didn't know much about him before he became a Guardian, but from the way my husband talks he was lonely for a long time. I try to make him feel welcomed here, after all, he's the closest thing I'll have to a son." Carol had a loving look on her face as she got back to sewing. "He makes trouble out of habit. He's so used to fighting for the attention of someone that he doesn't fully know how to react to the it. He's not used to it. After all, he only started coming around about a year or so ago."

"I noticed that, but I think he's gotten better with it. At least around me. Only a week at my house and he fully made himself at home. He was also a lot more at ease around me than when he first arrived."

"Take care of him Lyra. He loves people, yes, but he never truly opens his heart to them. Even to us he still hides his feelings." Lyra looked over at Carol as she set something to the side and begun working with a new material.

"What makes you think he'll open up to me?" Lyra softly asked noticing that inside she actually hoped the winter spirit would let her be the one he trusted more than anyone else.

"Because, never in his whole time being near me have I ever seen him so smitten with someone as he is with you. You're special to him Lyra. It's only a matter of time until he himself realizes that as well." Lyra's heart sped up slightly and she felt a little giddy. It was almost like hearing from a friend in school that a recent crush was asking about her. Lyra didn't deny that she was attracted to the boy, but refused to think of it as anything more than a mere crush.

"I'll do my best ma'am." Lyra said lowly but Carol still heard it. Carol giggled softly before winking at her playfully.

"I'd make you a sexy outfit to make him fall all over you, but I think he enjoys your modesty more than your sexy side so we'll not give him too much of a shock. For now." Carol held back the evil outfit ideas she had in her mind and Lyra blushed in fear of what the woman would make her wear in the future.

Lyra could also see that even if she protested and ran the woman would most likely track her down and force her into it anyway. It was then that Lyra understood that the motherly, sweet Carol had a deep secret of evilness down in her core.

* * *

Lyra spun around in front of a large sized mirror admiring her new outfit from Mrs. Claus and enjoying how comfortable it was. She wore a pair of form fitting black stretch leggings, a jean skirt that fell down mid-thigh, a white form fitting long-sleeved shirt, and a baby blue sweater vest on top. She wore a pair of black boots that were both comfortable and sturdy that went up mid-shin level. Around her waste was a strong leather belt that had a large area on the side to hold a jar. Carol came back into the room from finding a jar that would be stronger than her human-made mason jar. Lyra turned from the mirror to look at the jar in the woman's hands. It was a little larger in size, but small enough to fit in the area Carol had designed for it to fit. It had a small opening at the top with a cork causing Lyra to frown at it.

"Carol how will she fit in the top?" Carol smiled before pulling the cork out of the top of it. The opening suddenly expanded in size big enough for Mini Aria to fit inside.

"Magic, my dear." Carol playfully winked before holding the jar out for Lyra. Lyra sat it on a nearby table, unscrewed her mason jar, and carefully dumped Mini Aria into her hands and gently placing her into her new home.

"I hope this will be a little bit more comfortable for you Mini Aria." Lyra smiled before putting the cork back into the top, it shrinking in size and sealing her safely inside. Lyra unzipped the area for the jar on her belt, placed it inside, and zipped it back up. The leather compartment completely covered the jar so that it just looked like a purse type belt and no one would ever see what it was that she was carrying. This would keep Aria's location secret longer in addition with the protective charm. Lyra turned once more to look in the mirror before adjusting her glasses and grinning at herself.

"I absolutely love it! It's like you understood my sense in fashion without me actually saying anything!" Carol clapped her hands together in excitement.

"Oh you just look wonderful! I'm surprised the other's haven't come looking for us yet. Oh come on, let's go show you off!" Carol grabbed her hands in excitement before pulling Lyra off to go find the others.

Lyra nearly tripped over a few elves as Carol tugged her along. Carol was surprisingly agile and able to dodge each elf perfectly. Finally they came across a room that appear to be a grand living room, at least three times the size of Lyra's living room, and all but North and Jack were currently inside.

"Wow Lyra you look amazing! Carol your sewing abilities are something to be envious of!" Tooth cooed happily as she flew around Lyra admiring her smart way of carrying Aria around.

"I put my own form of a charm on the belt for Lyra. If people bump into the jar while it's on her hip, for instance like this." Carol then bumped her hip against the place that the jar was located. Panic filled everyone's eyes before Lyra smiled big in understanding.

"It doesn't trigger the charm! You made it so the belt doesn't act as a direct link to Mini Aria!" Lyra said completely overjoyed. A loud sigh was heard as everyone sighed in relief at once.

"You do look lovely in that outfit." Lance was back inside and sitting on a nearby sofa. He winked at her and smiled seductively causing her to blush furiously.

"Oh where is Jack when you want to show off how cute a girl is!" Carol stomped her foot upset the boy wasn't in the room.

"Hey what's all the commotion about-" Jack walked in about that time and dropped the cookie he was munching on when he saw Lyra. He coughed and cleared his throat, nervously tugging at the neck of his hoodie and smiling sheepishly.

"You look…nice…." He said nervously. Bunny and Lance exchanged smirks with each other and Lyra smiled appreciatively.

"Why thank you Jack. I must say, you've told me I've looked hot and now I look nice, all in a matter of a few days? Way to make a girl feel good." She laughed as Jack jerked in surprise.

"I said you were hot because you were literally hot!"

"See what I mean? He's so sweet!" Lyra laughed as she pinched his cheeks playfully. He scowled and grabbed her hands.

"You're frustratingly annoying and adorable at the same time. How does one person accomplish such an amazing feat at one time?" He muttered lowly to her so the others wouldn't hear. She raised an eyebrow before smirking.

"Ask yourself and I'm sure you'll figure out the answer." He rolled his eyes before grinning at her.

"North said he needed to work on Christmas preparations so it looks like we're all on Aria host searching duty. We should probably split up and look for her new host while the others try to get information on Leon and Pitch." Jack said as he dropped Lyra's hands and turned his attention to everyone else. They all nodded in agreement.

"Well then Jack, you should be the one to take the lass around and search for a new host. The rest of us will search for them problem makers." Bunny winked at Lance causing the man to laugh at the devious planning. Carol couldn't help the devious grin from appearing.

Jack and Lyra were completely oblivious to the fact the others were trying to get them to spend time together. Alone.

"All right then! Lyra, how about we go pick a random place on the globe to go explore?" Jack grinned before heading out of the room. Lyra laughed and followed him.

"I always wanted to travel the world! Never expected to be doing it this way, that's for sure."

* * *

In a town somewhere a mother entered her son's room early in the morning to wake him for his last day of school before Christmas break. The sun was still down, but with her work schedule she had to get them up early to ensure she made it to work on time. She walked over and sat on the side of the bed before gently shaking the boy and softly telling him it was time to get up. He didn't move, and she started shaking him more. After calling out for him to wake up for a moment, she realized the boy wasn't responding.

In a panic, she flipped the blankets off him and started looking for a sign he was breathing and a pulse. He was alive, but his face was contorted in pain. She quickly lifted the child up into her arms, screaming out for her husband and running out of the room.

Outside the window, a dark figure with golden eyes chuckled darkly at the panicking of the woman.

"Oh, he won't be waking up anytime soon my friend. It's time for the endless nightmares to begin." He turned to a shadow sitting perched up on top of the roof and laughed. "Purely amazing, my friend. I don't understand why I wasn't smart enough to seek you out before now!" White teeth appeared as the shadow smiled a sinister smile.

"Comatose children unable to wake from their nightmares. It will not only empower you greatly, but will in turn bring power to me as well. Stressed out parents tend to fight and get angry at each other a lot when it involves the well being of their children." A soft chuckle came from the shadow.

Both men started laughing in unison as their evil plans slowly started coming into motion.

"Let's see how your Guardians handle this." Pitch spoke up to the half moon that was disappearing over the horizon as the sun began to rise into the sky.

* * *

**Author's Note: So I was off today and I figured I would treat you guys to another chapter before I went back to work for another week. Don't fret, I shall try to upate really soon I swear! Don't forget to let me know what you guys are thinking so far! I love reading the reviews of who everyone think's the new host is. It amuses me how close everyone is, yet how super far away you all are at the same time. Then again, have we even met the new host yet? I just like seeing you guys guess. ^-^ (Though secretly I feel bad for not just telling you the answer. ;-; )**


	10. Chapter 10: Down Under, Mate!

**Disclaimer: Don't own RoTG. Yada yada. I have to be at work in 3 hours and i haven't slept, but I love you guys so much I wrote this up and posted it instead of sleeping. Enjoy ;D**

* * *

Jack and Lyra had made a quick stop on their way to the globe room to bother North in the middle of his Christmas preparations. This, in turn, made North slightly irritated at Jack. Jack had complained about how North blamed him yet Lyra got off scotch free, but Lyra proceeded to then remind him he had a tendency to irritate people on purpose so it was a natural reaction. Regardless, Lyra smiled sweetly at North and asked him if there was a way for them to carry multiple snow globes without them being overly heavy and annoying. North had laughed happily before walking over to lift up a small pouch on his desk. He walked over and handed it to Lyra before standing tall and proud.

"This here is pouch full of snow globes. You watched that Pokemon show as child, yes?" Lyra laughed before nodding enthusiastically. People who didn't know what pokemon was…well they weren't people! "These snow globes are itty bitty, and you push button on them like one of those pokeballs and it grows to normal size to use! Absolutely brilliant! Was working on them for Jack, but you will be more responsible with them."

"Wait you gave my gift to her! I never get gifts! Lyra you stole my gift!" Jack started complaining loudly. Lyra just laughed and stuck her tongue out at the winter spirit.

"Maybe if you behave I'll share with you." He huffed in annoyance and leaned against his staff while North laughed happily. "Besides, Christmas is coming up in a week or two, maybe you'll get a gift. If you can figure out how to get off naughty list."

"That depends on if I'm still holding the record or not." Jack smiled but realized something that was more important that Lyra had said.

He needed to find her a gift for Christmas. He should probably find a gift for the others as well, yes even that damn Cupid, but Lyra was the top priority on his list. Never ask him why this was because he himself did not know.

It had been a really long time since he had gotten or even given Christmas gifts.

After speaking to North while Jack was busy daydreaming, Lyra brought him out of his musing by grabbing the hood on his sweater and pulling him along behind her as she proceeded to get lost trying to find the globe room.

"I'm not a dog on a leash, you know! Wouldn't it be a better idea to let me guide us anyway?" He spun and yanked his hood from her grasp before hovering in the air in front of her, leaning in close. "I am better with directions than some people." He chuckled before pulling away. Lyra scowled.

"We were only lost for five minutes that night we drove to the surrounding towns, so don't you dare say I have horrible directional sense!" She took the time of following Jack to the globe room to attach her new pouch to her awesome new belt. One could tell that North and Carol had been together for a long time because even when they worked in separate rooms on different projects they seemed to reflect each others work. Case in point was the fact that Lyra's belt had a specific place for the pouch to clasp on perfectly. She couldn't believe how amazing those two were.

"This is all surreal." She smiled as they finally reached the elevator to the globe room. Jack tilted his head and looked at her.

"What is?"

"The Guardians, this workshop, this adventure! You! I mean, just everything! How many stories are written each year about people who fall into some magical adventure! Sometimes I have a hard time grasping the fact that this is all _real_." Jack knocked his staff down on top of her head with a loud 'thunk'. She yelped and grabbed the spot before staring at him in shock. "Why do you abuse me like this?" She nearly yelled at the boy. He just laughed and walked off the elevator.

"Consider it a love tap. On that note, if it hurts then that means you're really here. I mean, you yourself did something similar that night I fell through your roof. I'm still surprised that you didn't have a hand print on your face." Lyra frowned and decided she'd let the white haired boy have the argument. This time.

"So where to then, handsome?" Jack leaned against his staff staring at the globe in thought. Where would be a good place to search? A place full of people obviously. Jack's mind de-railed after a moment and he smirked deviously.

"You think I'm handsome?"

"I know where we'll go!" Lyra was grinning evilly. She completely ignored his handsome comment. "Oh Jack I think you'll enjoy this one!" She turned to face him, tapped her foot on the ground three times, before taking on the best attempt of an Australian accent that she could muster. "We're goin' down under, mate!" Jack busted out laughing.

"That was amazing! I totally see what you did there! Down under, cause of his tunnels being under ground. And the whole Australian thing-"

"Jack it's funnier when you don't explain it." Lyra laughed at the boy. A loud huff was heard from the direction of the elevator. Lyra and Jack turned to see Cupid, Bunny, and Sandy all standing there. A chime was coming from Sandy signaling he was laughing. Bunny's arms were crossed over his chest and his eye looked to be twitching, and Cupid's lips were in a thin line from him obviously trying to not laugh himself. Lyra smiled an apologetic smile while Jack just laughed harder at the sight of the rabbit.

"Lyra, before you go." Lance walked over to her and patted her on the shoulder before winking at her. Lyra looked at him confused for a moment. "Lyra, I just wanted you to know. You shouldn't worry about constantly worrying about watching Mini Aria for a reaction. When you find her host, you'll be the first person to know. You two are connected now, so it will be extremely hard to miss when it happens." Lyra nodded in understanding. She reached up and took Lance's hand, pulling it down in front of her and placing her other hand around it as well. She gave a loving squeeze before smile softly to him.

"I'll take good care of her Lance. I promise. I can tell you were important to her as well." Lance looked briefly shocked for a moment before a sad smile graced his lips.

"I like to hope so." About that time Jack had regained his senses from picking on the rabbit and reached over to take Lyra's hands from Lance's. Jack gave Lance a pointed look before grinning at Lyra. Lyra rolled her eyes at the mischievous glint is his eyes.

"Since you are absolutely brilliant I say Australia sounds like a fine idea indeed." Jack started talking in a British accent. Lyra raised an eyebrow at the boy before snorting.

"Jack, you're Australian accent is much worse than mine is."

"Nah, I just felt like being different."

"Trust me Frostbite, we're all aware of how _special_ you are." Bunny fought back earning a glare from the winter spirit.

"On that note we'll be back for dinner!" Lyra quickly interjected before reaching in her new pouch and pulling out a tiny orb. She pressed the button North had mentioned, grinning when it expanded in size, before handing it to Jack. "Told you I'd share." She winked and he laughed before whispering to the orb, busting it, and pulling Lyra through the warp with him.

"Think we should be worried about Australia?" Cupid calmly asked. Sandy formed a question mark of his head wondering why they should worry. Bunny just smirked and shook his head.

"Think we should mark this in Jack's baby book as the first date?"

All three men laughed at poor Jack's expense.

* * *

Australia was a little on the warmer side than what Lyra had gotten used to being in with Jack around. She was a bit concerned about how the winter spirit would react to the temperature but upon getting her bearings together and getting a good look at him she noticed he was perfectly fine. Jack felt her questioning gaze before returning one of his own.

"What's wrong?"

"Doesn't the heat bother you? I mean, you're winter right?" Jack laughed at her before shaking his head. He spun his staff in a circle before leaning it against his shoulder. He looked around the creepy alley behind a building they had landed in before walking backwards and watching her.

"I'm the spirit of winter. Meaning I control winter. I am winter, yes, but I'm also a human just like you. Immortal human. Has a nice ring to it don't you think?" He chuckled before patting his chest. "I mean, I still have a heart beat so I can't be that different, right?" Lyra considered it for a moment before nodding in understanding.

"You'll tell me if you get too warm, promise?" He rolled his eyes and smirked.

"You keep worrying so much Lyra your hair will be the same color as mine." This got the scowl he was looking for to appear. "If it makes you feel better, I can keep my powers under a tight reign so the only cool air is produced along my body. No one will even noticed I'm with you today. That way I don't heat up too much. Deal?" She smiled and nodded, thankful the boy could watch his temperature in such a way.

"Oh that reminds me." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small Bluetooth earpiece. She placed it on her ear and tucked her hair back so it was out in the open.

"What is that and why are you wearing it?" Jack was about to ask if the heat had gone to her head instead before she gave a proud grin.

"It's a Bluetooth for a phone. When you were daydreaming I asked North if he had anything like them. Figures that Santa would. Anyway! This way you and I can talk like normal while we walk around and it'll just look like I'm on the phone with someone instead!" Jack's blue eyes widen in disbelief before he laughed and put his arm around her shoulders.

"That, my dear, is why I think you are the best friend a guy could ever have! Pure genius you are." Lyra grinned happily at being called his best friend while ignoring the slight ache her chest felt at the title.

"Shall we go explore then? Where are we anyway?" Lyra looked around at the creepy, empty alley before thinking about how many people probably got attacked in this very alley.

"We're in Sydney, Australia, my lady." Jack took her hand, bent down and kiss the back of it before lacing their fingers together and walking beside her out of the alley. Lyra blushed but couldn't help thinking that he was competing with Lance again.

The problem? Lyra had no clue what the boys were currently trying to prove.

* * *

They had walked around for hours enjoying the sights of Australia in all it's beauty. Lyra had cursed herself for not having a camera so she could get pictures, but then she realized that she wouldn't have been able to get any pictures of Jack anyway. She knew then what to ask for Christmas, at least.

Jack had been having as much fun as her. Normally when he visited different parts of the world it was for the sole purpose of bringing winter. This time, however, he was just being normal Jack. He was being like a normal human tourist enjoying the sights and the attractions with his best friend. Though every time Jack thought or said the term best friend it felt weird on his tongue. He couldn't quite figure out how to describe his and Lyra's friendship so he left such thoughts for a different time.

They were currently sitting at a small shop while Lyra ate a small bowl of ice cream as a mid-travel snack. Tooth was really familiar with the different currencies of the world so she had given Lyra a little bit of spending money for each place they would most likely go. Lyra was extremely thankful.

"I overheard someone mention there's going to be fireworks somewhere around here later tonight. Want to go see it?" Jack asked as he shoved his finger into her ice cream before scooping up some and licking it off. She felt her eye twitch at the action.

"You better have washed your hands." He shrugged before looking at his hand.

"They're mostly clean. Germs won't kill you!" He said as he shoved his finger into her ice cream once more.

"Says the guy who panics every time I get sick." He snorted before acting like he hadn't cared at all she was sick. She raised at eyebrow at him earning a cheesy grin.

"So those fireworks?" Lyra looked down at the jar on her hip in thought. She had been covering as much ground as her human legs, and some taxi vehicles, would allow her to cover and she still hadn't felt anything from Mini Aria.

"Jack, we're supposed to be working. I don't like you being so vulnerable for so long. The sooner we find Aria's host the better." Jack looked at her for a long moment before flexing his right arm and patting where the muscle was.

"Pitch and Leon are no match for this. Able to fly or not." He laughed. "Lyra, you've never seen these places before. I want you to enjoy your stay while we're looking! Pitch and Leon haven't even shown themselves yet. We should enjoy this time while we can." While Jack could understand where Lyra was coming from, and he completely agreed with her, he wanted to hold onto the laid back time he was spending with her as much as possible. He loved the light feeling it gave him inside, and for once in his life he wanted to just hold onto something like this. He was tired of feeling alone, and bored, and overall unconnected with people. Lyra made him want to kick his irresponsibility up to the next level.

She just shook her head before taking a bite of her snack. She watched the pale boy closely; overall glad he wasn't causing trouble like he tended to do. She remembered her conversation with Carol before sighing and looking up at the sky.

"Here's the deal. We cover as much ground as we can today. We'll come back, enjoy the fireworks, and head home for the night. Tomorrow we're not goofing off though." She pointed a finger at him trying to get her point across. He grinned in victory.

"Yes ma'am" He saluted her before reaching in and stealing more of her ice cream. "Man, I think I really like this chocolate stuff." Lyra kicked under the table hitting him the shin causing him to yelp in pain. She laughed and he couldn't help but laugh with her.

* * *

A couple more hours passed and Lyra was currently on her way back to the area of town Jack had said there was going to be a firework show. Jack was leading her to an area close to the water but off to a distance from most of society that he had scouted early to watch the fireworks at. She was disappointed that nothing had happened in the hunt for Aria's host. Jack had tried to cheer her up, telling her that the world was a big place and there were a lot of people in it. She, however, couldn't get the sick feeling out of her stomach that was building lately.

She could feel sometime bad was coming, and she wanted nothing more than to make sure Jack and the others were safe.

Jack leaned against the fence that prevented them from falling over into the water before hopping up to walk across it like a tight rope. It was getting dark out and the fireworks should start soon. He wanted to make sure they had the best seat in the house away from other people. Lyra might have had her Bluetooth and was a tourist but she did sometimes still get strange looks from people when she would point out things to no one and what not. Jack wanted to give her some time from prying eyes.

Or perhaps he just wanted some time with her to himself, though he would never actually consider the idea.

Lyra walked up and leaned against the railing looking up at him walk along beside her. He crouched down and held a hand out for her to take. She hesitated but took his hand before nearly screaming out in shock as he pulled her up on top of the railing.

"Jack I can't balance like you can!" She clung to him and looked down the small hill like she was on a tall cliff. He laughed his arms around her waist, pulling her close, and smiling reassuringly at her. She blushed deeply at the contact between them but was thankful it was that instead of her falling.

"Lyra, even if I can't fly I will never let you fall." He spoke lowly, his eyes full of a emotion Lyra couldn't quite place. She stared back at him, her heart beating hard in her chest. She was worried he could hear the beating it was so loud, and she shifted nervously indirectly moving herself closer to him. He leaned in and laid his forehead against her, staring deeply into her eyes. "I will always catch you." He all but whispered. About that time the fireworks shot up into the sky, but neither of their attentions turned to view them.

Jack's chest felt tight, his heart beat going faster than it did when he was having an adrenaline rush. He felt strangely nervous, but he wasn't sure why. Lyra and him had been this close before. He held her like this the day she woke up crying from dreaming of Aria's death, why was this so different?

Jack's eyes widen in shock and he pulled himself away. He turned to watch the fireworks, one of his arms around Lyra's waist to keep her steady as they watched the fireworks. Lyra's face was solid red beside him, but he was too busy trying to figure out his own emotions to notice her. He felt hot. A strange sensation considering he was always able to keep his body temperature at a certain degree no matter where he was.

As he watched the color burst to life in the night sky that night Jack realized something important. The reason he couldn't describe his friendship with Lyra, was because this was something stranger than any friendship he had ever experienced. Thinking back on the conversation with Carol, he briefly wondered if it was possible he might have a crush on the honey blonde girl beside him or if all the teasing and talk of the other guardians was finally getting too him.

Either way, he was going to have to take some time to figure this out.

* * *

**Author's Note: Yeah, so I need sleep XD Anyway, they're on the hunt now! Jack's starting to realize that he does like Lyra, which I feel by chapter 10 starting the crush factors in them seems reasonable, right? I'm trying to keep it at a steady pace, not to fast but not to slow. Just take into consideration at this point they've been together a little over a month about. So yeah. No major love stuff for those of you who might get mad at it going to fast, but a little fluff for those who are tired of waiting? Anyway, I'm off to sleep!**


	11. Chapter 11: Flying In France

**Disclaimer: Don't own RoTG. Just my Oc's. This is by far the longest chapter I have produced for this story reaching up to 5500 words, so I hope you guys like it!**

***IMPORTANT*: Now, I know in past chapters I have decribed Aria as appearing like a 9 year old child. Let me explain something before you read this chapter. Aria APPEARS like a 9 year old. She is NOT 9 years old. There is explinations of love interests with Aria with this chapter and I don't want people going "OMG PEDOBEAR!" I am basing this off of their maturity and age of immortality! I'd like you to do that as well.**

* * *

Lyra was pacing back and forth across the red carpet she had seen in that slight vision Aria had shown her yesterday. The walls were a vibrant red that contrasted perfectly with the carpet, but that wasn't any of her concern as guilt, fear, and anxiety fluttered through her body at fast speeds causing her to feel extremely sick to her stomach. She almost had the desire to crawl into a corner and cry until her body fell to exhaustion.

Lance walked into the room looking concerned, but for some reason she couldn't bare to face him at the moment. Looking at him just reminded her of someone else that was the reason for her current panic attack.

"Aria, please, we have to stop him." Lyra pulled away from his reaching hand and glared at him darkly.

"It's my fault he's like this! If I had just responded instead of freezing up then he wouldn't be doing this. You know Leon isn't bad in his heart!" Lance looked angry as he clenched his hands into balls at his sides.

"Aria he's been causing accidents that are _killing_ people!" Lyra felt her temper growing at the fact her best friend wouldn't fight for his brother.

"I've caused similar accidents!" She nearly screamed as tears started pouring down her cheeks. Lance looked taken back for a moment before sighing softly.

"Aria, your's are natural disasters that must occur for balance in the world to continue. He's deliberately killing people. You know as well as I do that he's not been the same lately. The powers he lives off of have been going to his head. He's not my Brother anymore." Lyra looked at him in shock at such a statement. Not his brother anymore? Who could just disown their brother in such a way!

"He's only like this because I didn't tell him I loved him as well! I never got a chance! He just…he panicked and ran off thinking the worse before I even had a chance to return the feelings." Lyra trailed off, a hallow feeling entering her chest and a knot forming in her throat as she choked on her tears. Lance looked absolutely shocked, standing still and looking at her for a long moment before his whispering echoed across them room.

"Aria….I love you." Lyra's body trembled at his confession causing her to sob harder. She fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around her trying desperately to get a-hold of herself. Lance closed his eyes before turned to face the window. "Please Aria, just say it. I need to hear it." He spoke lowly to the point Lyra almost didn't hear him.

"I love Leon, Lance. Is that what you want me to say?" She choked out. Lance let go of a breath that he was holding before nodding.

"I always knew you would never be mine. I know love better than anyone, after all. I just needed to hear it." He turned to her with determination in his eyes. "We have to take out my brother Aria, we have no choice!"

"I can't do that! How can you say you'll get rid of your own brother! I have to try to reason with him again!"

"I can say that because not only did he take the girl I love but he's sitting here breaking her heart and hurting other people who have _nothing_ to do with this!" He yelled at her as his temper got the best of him.

Lyra felt nothing but anger and disappointment in her best friend. Shaking her head she ran out of the room without looking back.

"I won't hurt him!" She cried to herself as she ran outside and flew into the air.

* * *

Lyra was brought out of her dream from a strange feeling appearing on her face every few seconds. She heard strange garbling and giggling and she opened her eyes slowly to see a few elves right up in her face. They were holding what appeared to be markers and at the sight of her awake they ran out of the room while tossing the markers up into the air behind them in the process of their escape. She sat up on the bed as the bedroom door slammed shut and just stared at the door.

"I'm not sure what's more upsetting right now. The dream I just had, or the marker drawings I'm about to go see on my face. It better be washable marker." She muttered darkly before folding the blankets off of her and placing her feet on the cold floor.

She made her way to the small bathroom that was attached to her bedroom and looked in the mirror on the wall to discover that the elves were not good at drawing. At all. Not even when trying to prank someone in their sleep. She briefly wondered if Jack paid them off to perform the action, but realized Jack's pride would cause him to do the deed himself. With a deep, sleepy sigh she got to scrubbing her face in a desperate attempt to look like a normal girl before she went to find Carol for breakfast.

Thankfully, the markers had been washable so she had no trouble getting the still wet ink off her face and appearing like her normal self within a matter of moments. She walked over and got the outfit Carol had made for her-she had taken it to wash for the girl overnight- and got dressed before finding a hairbrush and getting ready. She found a toothbrush on the sink with a ribbon and note saying 'Love Tooth' on it. She laughed and freshened up completely before heading out of her room and glancing around the hallway for which direction she would go. She still did have a tendency to get lost in the workshop-something she would never let Jack know-and therefore had absolutely no idea where to begin looking for people.

She started walking down the hall to the right and after taking a few turns and twists here and there ended up running straight into someone. She fell backwards, having not been paying attention, only to have her wrist grabbed and her body weight righted before she fell. She looked to see Jack standing in front of her-his face a deep red-before he jerked his hand away from her wrist like her skin was as hot as fire. She frowned at the reaction and watched him carefully. Jack had been extremely quiet towards her since the firework show last night. He also seemed to develop this weird nervous twitch habit where he refused to look at her. He cleared his throat before tugging on the collar of his sweater and giving her a nervous grin.

"Morning Jack. Are you feeling okay?" He abruptly nodded as an answer before staring at the wall.

"So, um…morning to you and um…I've got some things I need to take care of so!" With that he briskly walked past her and disappeared down the hall before she even had a moment to fully comprehend what was going on. She felt irritation bubble through her body before stomping after him. She wanted to know why he was acting this way, and she wanted to know now.

Unfortunately, when she went to track down Jack she managed to finally find her way to the living room but in turn lost her intended target. She sighed at the sight of Sandy sleeping off in a corner. She walked over and gently tapped the floating man on his shoulder a few times causing him to blink sleepily up at her. He gave a half grin before a hand appeared over his head in a form of hello.

"Good Morning Sandy. I'm sorry to wake you, but I'm lost. I was hoping to figure out where breakfast was." She laughed nervously causing him to smile brightly at her. He suddenly signed a snowflake before a question mark above his head as a curious look crossed his fill-out face. She sighed before shrugging.

"I think he's trying to avoid me." Sandy looked alarmed before a million question marks kept reappearing over his head. She waved it off. "I'm not sure honestly. Maybe he's going through puberty finally. I'll let him have his time to himself for a while before I pester him I suppose." Sandy frowned deeply before nodding in agreement. He waved for her to follow him before floating out the door and down the hall towards the kitchen where Carol was busy cooking muffins for everyone.

Lyra grinned at the smell of breakfast as her stomach made a happy gurgle. She walked up behind Carol and leaned over to see what she was working on.

"Oh good morning Lyra! I do hope you like blueberry or chocolate or banana nut or-"

"Blueberry would be fine before you list off every muffin ever made." Both women laughed before Lyra yelped in shock at a pair of arm snaking around her waist from behind. She felt a tall, firmly muscled body fit up against her back and a deep voice whispered playfully in her ear.

"I'd always dreamed you'd escape your boyfriend to spend time with me, though I had no idea it would be so soon. I must say Lyra, I wasn't fully prepared for this chance encounter this morning." Lyra laughed and rolled her eyes, spinning as Lance released his grip on her and winked playfully.

"You, Cupid, are a horrible tease and flirt. It's no wonder you have so much trouble with women!" He shrugged and sigh dramatically.

"What can I say. I'm excellent at setting up one night stands but horrible at long-term dating. It's a curse I suppose! So where's your boyfriend?" Lance looked around the kitchen surprised his head hadn't been cut off for the stunt he had just pulled. Lyra scowled in irritation.

"For the last time, Jack and I aren't dating. Not only that but…" Lyra scowled in the direction of the doorway. "I think the idiot is avoiding me currently. I'm trying to give him so space to figure out whatever his problem is before I reattempt to understand what is wrong. I'm thinking it's puberty but I'm leaving him to work that out."

"Another words you lost him while trying to figure it out." Lyra sighed in defeat at Cupid's statement.

"He's an agile little thing." She muttered darkly. He laughed before handing a blueberry muffin that was fresh out of the over to Lyra. She took it and thanked Carol for breakfast.

"How about you and I search today and he can help the Guardians? I haven't gotten my field trip with you yet." Sandy started signing over his head about he wanted to have a field trip with Lyra too. Lyra laughed and winked at Lance.

"Can I trust you to escort me like a proper gentleman without running off for another woman?" He looked appalled at her even suggesting such a thing.

"I would never leave someone as beautiful as yourself out alone for other's to snatch up! Unlike some people, I do have a brain!" Lyra tapped her chin in consideration for a moment.

"I suppose you can take me today! Sandy we'll go next time." Sandy grinning in excitement holding his thumbs up in an okay motion. "So, lover boy, where are we going today?"

"How about my town? The city of love!"

"France? That sounds cool."

"Do you need to inform Mr. Moody about your traveling plans?" Lyra shrugged before patting her pouch full of snow globes.

"He'll figure it out. Better yet, you'll tell him won't you Sandy?" She smiled sweetly causing the man to blush happily and nod. With a wave to Carol, who was still busy cooking, and Sandy she headed out with Lance who grabbed another muffin before following after her.

One snow globe warp later and Lyra stood on top of a tall building as a soft cold breeze blew her hair into her face. She shuddered at the temperature before noticing that her clothes felt warmer putting her body temperature back to normal. She assumed Carol probably did some more changes to her outfit when she took it to be washed last night. She laughed happily at the sight of the Eiffel Tower in the distance.

"Wow it's just like it is in all the movies and pictures!" She clapped in excitement and walked close to the edge of the building to admire the view. She took a deep breath before looking at Cupid expectantly. "Well lover boy, show me a good time would you? How do we get down?" Lance laughed before stretching his wings and lifting her bridal style.

"Like this." He simply said before just bluntly stepping off the side of the building. She screamed in fear and clung to the man before his wings caught the air and he softly started gliding across the sky.

"Lance I don't think a girl randomly flying across the sky is a good idea!" He laughed before gently settling her down on the ground in a concealed area. She placed her hand on her chest trying desperately to calm her beating heart before she had a heart attack. "Warn a girl next time would ya?" She playfully smacked his arm and he just winked at her.

"Anything for the lady." He purred out before walking out into the crazy town of Paris. "Welcome to Paris, mon amour." He ended in a perfect French accent. She got her Bluetooth out of her pocket, place it on her ear, before pointing ahead of them.

"Let the adventure begin!" She laughed before heading on to explore. Lance watched her go with a soft smile on his lips.

"She's a lot like you sometimes Aria, but I must say she is the complete opposite of you as well." He chuckled to himself before following after the overly excited girl hurrying him along.

* * *

Lyra walked around for hours, her legs were beginning to protest how much walking she had done in the past two days, enjoying all the older looking buildings and even the newer buildings. Lance was teaching her how to speak in French the most basic of sentences. She was currently standing in front of the Eiffel Tower looking up and admiring just how tall the thing was. She deciding against going up onto it, however, wanting to cover more ground before it turned dark.

"Lance you're always flirting with me. You're not being serious with it, are you? I'm afraid I might have hurt your feelings by assuming it was just all play." The blonde man laughed loudly, an evil glint she had seen all too often in Jack's eye reflecting from his baby blue ones.

"I would never say all of those nice things about a girl and not mean it, Lyra." Lyra scowled and gave him a pointed stare.

"You know what I mean Lance." He laughed again before look at the tower as well.

"I mean it whole heartedly in the sense that I do think you are an amazingly beautiful girl. However, I am not in anyway trying to win your heart or claiming love for you. I don't mean to offend you, but you're more like a sister to me. That and it's just _so_ much fun getting Jack all worked up. That boy terrorized the rest of us for three hundred years with his blizzards and snow. It's about time we got some pay back. You just happen to conveniently come along."

"Not sure why I'm the perfect way to get back at him, but okay." She laughed before turning around in a circle to decide on a new direction to go. She randomly pointed with her eyes closed before opening and walking in the direction her hand ended up going. Lance chuckled at her way of picking a route.

"That was an random conversation, by the way. What's the occasion?" Lance let his eyes drift along several passing females while commenting on if he would take them home or not as he waited for her response. Lyra snorted at how much of a guy he was.

"I don't know. I'm just curious as to how your whole love thing works. You're Cupid, but how do your powers work exactly? I was thinking of that, which led to me thinking of your flirtatious ways, which led to me asking." She nodded in satisfaction of her reasoning.

"My powers hm? What I do is I encourage relationships. I feed off of love, yes, but I don't actually make people fall in love. I attract them to each other, whether it is in a lustful way or a cute way. I instigate what they need to meet, to communicate, to reach that 'let's enter each other's life' stage. They find love on their own. Ever heard of the red string of fate?" Lyra nodded that she had.

"That whole myth that there is a red string around everyone's pinky finger that leads to their true love?"

"Exactly! Except it's not already there. People fall in love on their own, and if they are really meant to be with the person they love then that red string will appear and complete itself. I just try to help people find the person who will be on the other end of the string. Make sense?" Lyra grinned and nodded.

"That's sweet of you. Working so hard to help people find that right person for them."

"There is something else that I must tell you. Love is a very powerful thing. When I help people find it then it is a very strong thing. However, there is a stronger form of love than that." Lyra looked at him oddly for a moment waiting for an answer. "Those whose red string of fate forms without me ever intervening. Love that is found on it's own, true love as I call it, that is the strongest and most powerful form of love to exist. Also, the rarest to find. Take Carol and North for example. Their love was formed by them and it was so strong, Man in Moon made Carol immortal just to be with North."

Lyra looked up at the sky considering it for a long moment. "That's amazing. To think something like love could impress Man in Moon. The way Jack talks about him he's not the most social of people, but he really does watch all of you doesn't he?"

"He's watching you as well Lyra. Anyone who is on the side of Man in Moon is always watched over by him."

"Kind of creepy to think about." Lyra laughed causing Lance to shrug.

"Could be worse. I'll take Man in Moon watching us over Pitch Black any day." Lyra agree completely before her stomach made itself know that it was time for lunch. She laughed and looked around for the closest place to eat.

* * *

Night came way too fast in Lyra's opinion and she still hadn't even felt a tug from Mini Aria as to where to find her new host. She sighed in defeat while sitting in the grass in a small park that seemed to not have anyone occupying it for the moment. Lance was standing beside her enjoying the bright lights of his home town.

"Isn't it beautiful? Such a well lit place even in the darkest of nights." Lyra smiled in agreement before standing up and stretching.

"I still didn't find the host. She's not even giving me any kind of hint of where to go. This is taking too long, there's way too many places to go to look… I'm just one person." Lyra groaned with a loud sigh. Lance placed a hand on her shoulder before looking up at the sky in thought.

"Lyra, you want to go on a ride?" She looked at him oddly for a moment before following his gaze up to the sky.

"A ride?"

"You told me to warn you before I flew with you again." He laughed as realization dawned on her. She considered it for a moment before agreeing.

"Yeah sure! I'd like to see how Cupid see's France." He suddenly scooped her up before she had a chance to protest and took to the sky. She gripped her arms around his neck tightly, absolutely terrified of how high up he went, before getting the sensation that she had the night she dreamt of Aria's death.

She felt like she was floating, the view of France and the lights were almost a reflection of the stars in the night sky. She stared in absolute awe at the world below her as Lance floated casually in one place, his wings flapping every so often to keep them steady.

"It's beautiful." He smiled a loving smile and nodded.

"Aria used to love the view of France at night. I would often find her out here when she was visiting."

"When Aria went and hid from you for a year….It was because you told her that Leon needed to be stopped, wasn't it?" Lance gasped in shock and stared at the girl in his arms. A flash of emotions crossed his features: sadness, hurt, anger, envy. He gritted his teeth and looked forward, refusing to meet her eyes.

"You're seeing her memories aren't you? That's why Jack mentioned you dreamt of her death." Lyra closed her eyes and calmly thought about it. Aria's memories? Was she really seeing them?

"I suppose? You were in a room with these maroon looking walls, and red carpet. She was crying saying she could reason with Leon because it was her fault he was doing what he was doing."

"Is that all you saw?" Lyra understood the unspoken question coming from the man. She bit her lower lip before looking down in shame.

"You loved her. She loved him." It was all that was needed to be said. Lance's grip went back to a relaxed state as he laughed.

"I'll be okay Lyra. That was a long, long time ago. Aria and I were always close once she came back. She disappeared for a year while she was in denial, but eventually she realized and came back to stop him. I kept him at bay as long as I could, but her appearance shocked him so much it gave us an advantage to lock him away. It was why she kept the seal on him. She would be with him that way, know where he was, and be able to watch over him. She truly did love my brother. He was just too stupid to ever realize it."

"Lance, Aria loved you dearly. I can feel it when I'm dreaming. Never doubt she cared for you, okay? I think both her and I agree that the girl you are meant to have in your life, your end to the red string, is out there waiting to be found." Lance closed his eyes and smiled softly.

"I thank you Lyra. You really are something else." Before anything else could be said something slammed into the back of Cupid so hard it knocked Lyra out of his arms and caused him to lose his balance in the air.

Lyra panicked as she fell through the air to the ground below all while noticing a shape of a horse above her in the air. She saw Lance spin mid-fall holding a bow in his hands from out of no where. He strung an arrow before releasing it; a pink aura surrounding the arrow as it flew straight for the dark horse-like figure. The creature dodged the attack and started charging at them. Lance quickly got his bearings and flew to catch Lyra.

He caught her just moments before she would have landed on the top branches of a large tree. He steadied them in the air and gently placed her on a steady branch to hold her. She gripped the tree tightly as she watched Lance in fear. He shot another arrow, this time hitting his intended target, before a really strong gust of wind burst through the air knocking Lance into Lyra. Lyra fell backwards off the branch with Lance in her arms. They tumbled through the rest of the branches as Lance moved himself under Lyra to protect her as best as he could from the fall.

They landed on the ground with a loud thud. The wind was knocked out of Cupid's lungs as Lyra landed on top of him. Lyra hissed in pain and curled up on him, unable to move as searing pain came from her left wrist. She had a couple of deep gashes along her arms and back from the tree branches she hit before Lance took the beating. Her wrist, however, had bent in a completely backwards motion and in what little bit of logical thought she could form she could tell that she had broken it.

"Lyra!" Lance gasped out in pain as he sucked in oxygen. He gently sat himself up careful to not hurt her anymore. "Oh man Lyra I am so sorry! Here, let's get back to Carol. Damn it." He was angry which was something that Lyra hadn't really seen. She wasn't really able to observe his angry side due to the fact she couldn't quite tell if she wanted to keep gritting her teeth in pain or if she wanted to scream. Tears fell down her cheeks against her will.

Lance lifted her up as carefully as he could as she coddled her wrist. He reached into her pouch and grabbed a snow globe, carrying her bridal style through the warp. He landed a little ungracefully in the globe room where he heard a loud gasp as Carol ran up to them.

"What happened?" Carol cried out gaining the attention of North who was studying the globe in front of him. He turned to see how badly Lyra looked and how forlorn Lance looked.

"We were attacked while flying over France. The wind current acted up and we fell."

"Don't just stand here, bring her to my room immediately!" Carol rushed off ahead of him as the other Guardians hurried into the room to see what all the screaming was about. Tooth realized what had happened and flew after Carol to help with preparations. Sandy looked angry and Bunny looked concerned.

Lance couldn't look at Jack as Jack stared at Lyra with nothing but pain in his eyes. When Jack's eyes flicked up to him he felt the strongest amount of hatred he had ever felt from the boy. It took everything in him to not groan from the discomfort it placed on his powers.

"I don't have time Jack-"

"Give. Her. Here. Now." Jack's voice was deep and low. He took Lyra from Lance before Lance had a chance to protest. Lyra whimpered slightly as Jack brushed one of her cuts causing Jack to softly apologize before quickly following after Carol. Lance wasted no time in following after him.

* * *

Jack stood against the wall watching as Carol got to work on patching Lyra up and getting a cast ready to set her wrist back into place. Carol had been a nurse in her past life so luckily there had been no need to take her to a real hospital. Jack's whole body was tense; his teeth grinding and nothing but pure anger flowed through his veins in a hot, boiling way. Lance stood against the wall near him making sure to keep a good distance between them. Tooth was busy helping Carol and the other Guardians were standing off to the far side making sure not to get near either of the boys.

"You better start explaining yourself. Now." Jack's gaze finally fell on Lance. Lance looked back into his eyes with determination.

"We were attacked by a nightmare while flying over France. I killed it, but the wind currents went crazy again and it caused us to fall through a tree. I took most of the damage for her, but I wasn't able to protect her completely." Lance admitted in shame. Jack hand's balled into fists at his sides.

"Why would you take her flying when you know that the wind is unstable? It has been since Aria was killed!" Jack screamed at that man for putting Lyra in danger.

"The wind hasn't acted up not once while Lyra has been around. In fact, I can fly almost ten times better when Lyra _is _around! Don't lecture me when I did everything I could to protect her. Incase you didn't notice, Frost, we're about to enter a war. She is going to get hurt! Maybe if you weren't so busy avoiding her-" Jack started yelling back over top of him to the point both boys were yelling so that no one could really understand what they were saying.

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Lyra practically screeched from her position on Carol's bed. She looked absolutely furious, her eyes were red from crying, and she was clearly still in a lot of pain. "I am NOT in the mood to deal with this. Lance saved my life Jack, and you need to stop jumping down his throat about this! He's right! I'm going to get hurt, I'm a human incase you didn't notice!" Jack winced at her yelling. He hung his head low as his body shook.

"I'm sorry Lyra. I didn't mean to upset you." He softly said. She gritted her teeth in pain as Carol moved her wrist a certain way.

"I'm so pissed of with you two fighting right now I want both of you out of this room! When you make up and realize how idiotic you are then you may show yourselves in front of me. Until then get out!" Lance bowed in respect to her and apologized about his behavior as he exited the room. Jack's ice blue eyes stared at Lyra almost willing her to not send him away but the glare he got in return was enough to make him walk out the door and shut it behind him.

"Talk about puttin' yer foot down." Bunny whispered softly to Sandy. Sandy nodded slightly in response.

Outside the door Jack took in a very deep breath and held it before releasing it slowly. Lance watched him for a moment before sighing.

"I really did try to break her fall Jack. I swear I had no intention of getting her hurt."

"You took her and ran off with her without even informing you were leaving. Then you bring her back like that? How the hell do you expect me to react?" Jack said much more calmer than he originally was. Lance nodded in understanding before pointing out Jack's flaws.

"You were avoiding her today. She's not stupid, she knew that's what you were doing. Not only that, Jack, but you don't exactly own her. You may have discovered her as a friend first but she is important to all of us now. You don't get to be the only one she spends time with."

"I don't mind her being with the others. It's you I have the problem with." Jack glared darkly at the man but Lance couldn't feel the anger flowing from the boy like he had the moment he arrived.

"I have no intention of taking her from you. You really need to stop being so blind and realize that I have never had any intention of taking her from you." Jack sighed heavily before leaning against the wall. He groaned loudly before sliding down to sit on the floor.

"I know that…I just… I'm having a really hard time right now. I don't understand! Anything!" Lance looked at the boy for a moment before realizing they were probably as close to a truce as they were going to get.

"What are you trying to understand? Is that why you were avoiding her? Because of confusion?" Jack nodded as he diverted his attention to his staff.

"I'm sorry for flipping out on you. I was terrified when you came in with her looking like that. My emotions seem to be jumping around to all kind of extremes lately." Lance chuckled softly.

"Must have hit puberty like Lyra said." Jack playfully glared at Lance before looking at the door.

"Aw man, now I've gone and made her mad. This day is just absolutely horrible!" Lance laughed and sat down beside the man.

"You think she's mad? You should go see a woman who has either A. Been cheated on or B. in the process of giving birth. Then you come talk to me about mad women." Jack groaned and slumped forward.

'_What a day.'_ Was the only thing Jack could manage to think.

* * *

**Author's Note: Wow that was a doozy! I love how no one has even asked Lance if his wounds are okay! Sheesh. Poor guy. ;D Let me know what you guys think!**


	12. Chapter 12: Christmas Dance Party

**Disclaimer: Don't Own RoTG. Enjoy ;D**

* * *

Time had passed since Lyra broke her wrist on her 'field trip' with Lance in France and Christmas was upon them. Nothing eventful had really happened after that night. Jack had come to her after she had woken up from some pain medication Carol had given her to practically begging for forgiveness. She honestly was a little shocked at how the boy was reacting but she laughed it off and forgave him and Lance both. She had been super irritated at the time of their fighting simply because she was in a lot of pain, but now that she was able to keep the pain under control she honestly had almost forgotten about the fight.

Jack's behavior towards her had eased up after that day, but he was still pretty distant compared to usual. He seemed to always be in the same room as her, but he never actually made direct contact unless she herself initiated it. Lance had told her he was having some difficult thoughts and was having issues understanding them, but that with time he was sure she wouldn't be able to get the boy to leave her alone. She wasn't sure if that conversation had been enlightening or concerning. Either way, she did as asked and gave the boy space.

She did finally get her field trips with the other guardians, excluding North of course. North had promised he would be the one to take her to Russia after Christmas was done and over so she had purposely avoided that part of Europe. Sandy had woken her up one night and taken her to spread dream sand for the children before taking her to Ireland. He had taken her to meet his friend the Leprechaun but upon arrival they discovered he was no where to be found. Sandy was disappointed, but Lyra was thankful to have been shown how the Sandman truly worked. Tooth had taken her to China to explore, but that had ended up in a fuss when her fairies kept distracting her and Lyra got lost for about three hours. Tooth about had a heart-attack, but thankfully Jack was there so he stayed with Lyra the whole time. Bunny had taken her to explore across England. He painted eggs the whole trip, but she found that he was actually an enjoyable person to hang out with when he wasn't trying to kill her nit-picking shadow, AKA Jack.

In fact, Jack had attend each and every 'field trip' that she had gone on since the one with Lance. When she was with the others he would usually stay in the background allowing her to have her time with her guides, but he was always there! "Nightmare Control" he had called it. She just figured his old nickname was needed and proceeded to begin calling him a stalker again. This usually got her normal Jack to come out to argue against the title full strength. He was extremely upset when Bunny took a liking to it and a full out prank-war began between the two immortals.

The only time she really had any trouble was when she was with Lance. The tension between the two boys after their fight had died down considerably, but there was still this aura of hostility between them. Eventually, Lyra started noticing that most of the hostility was still coming from Jack's side so she made sure to put her foot down and tell him to get over himself. Jack looked shocked at first but proceeded to grumble about how she seemed to take Lance's side more often than not. She flicked him in the forehead, hard, at the comment and he shut up pretty quick after that.

"_If you're not always taking his side then why do you call his name out in your sleep?" Jack had finally admitted with a scowl. Lyra couldn't help but blink and looked at him for a few moments wondering what in the world he was talking about._

"_You were watching me sleep? Seriously, stalker-"_

"_I was checking on you!" His face turned as red as a tomato as he proceeded to make sure she couldn't call him that dreaded nickname. She sighed and crossed her arms._

"_Jack, why would it matter if I called Lance's name in my sleep? It doesn't mean I favor him or anything. You're acting like our friendship is going to disappear just because Lance and I are good friends too." Jack winced and sighed heavily before he leaned against the wall near him._

"_I don't want you to leave." He murmured softly. She laughed and went to stand beside him, linking their arms together as if she was preparing to skip to Oz with the boy, before leaning back on the wall as well._

"_I'm not going anywhere Jack. You forget, you're the reason why I'm trying so hard to find Aria's host. If you must know, the reason I call out for Lance in my sleep is probably because when I dream I'm in Aria's memories."_

"_Her memories? You're still dreaming of things from Aria?" Lyra nodded before smiling._

"_I feel like she's trying to warn me. Show me the things she knows so when it comes time I can help everyone as much as possible all while knowing how to keep her and myself safe. So, would you stop worrying? Just because people didn't acknowledge you before, Jack, doesn't mean that the ones who do will run away from you." Jack sighed heavily before giving her his famous crooked smile._

"_I'm over-reacting again, aren't I?" Lyra nodded in agreement._

"_Seriously, three hundred years old and finally hitting puberty. Kinda sad…." She laughed and ran off as Jack formed a snowball in his hand before pelting her in the back._

"_You're going to pay for starting that rumor about me Lyra!"_

There were the times when they were alone that they seemed to fall back into their normal routine. That was all that mattered to Lyra in the end, she supposed. If Jack was okay then he was okay. If he needed to talk to her then she would let him be the one to instigate the conversation.

Boys were way too complicated. Honestly.

So here she was. Spending Christmas day at the North Pole in Santa's workshop. They hadn't celebrated their Christmas yet. They were patiently waiting for North to get home before they celebrated, and since technically one night for Santa was about two days in the world (all that time zone mumbo-jumbo) they were all avoiding the presents under the tree like the plague. Jack had tried to get a hold of one of his gifts when he saw his name on one of them, but Carol's dark side came out and no one was brave enough to go back into that room.

Jack was still terrified that his hand had actually been chopped off by the large sword she pulled from absolutely no where.

So in the mean time, while Jack hid somewhere freaking out about his hand, Lyra was down with the yetis moving some large speakers around as she prepared for the ultimate music party. Another words, Lyra felt like this truly has become her second home. No one else was really around, why not have fun with all the stuff the yetis built and have a music party? She missed her music far too much with all the Aria host searching missions she had been on.

The yetis seemed pretty excited about this too being as they never really got time to do much except make the toys all year round. They were assisting her in getting everything set up while trying not to kill any elves as the little critters tried to trip everyone. There was one elf that was determined to play the trumpet for the music party, and she figured since so many speakers would be playing it wouldn't really matter too much because he wouldn't be heard.

"Looks good guys!" She nodded in approval once everything was set up. She pushed play on the main radio and grabbed one of the toy microphones that had been left over from the Christmas rush. The music started playing loudly, the bass beating in tune with some color changing lights the yeti had set up after hearing her call it a 'party'. She laughed in excitement at the surprise before dancing around happily. The yetis and elves alike all began trying to dance. They weren't really able to get into the flow of the rhythm but Lyra just laughed and danced away.

"Oh I know what a fun song to dance to would be!" She skipped over to the radio and changed the CD she had in it-she had ran home via snow globes to get them.

"In the words of a famous Russian: 'This is going to be epic!'" Lyra called out happily before Aqua's Candyman started blaring over all the speakers.

"Oh~ I am the Candyman~" Lyra sang into her toy microphone as she bounced around with the creatures of the pole. A couple of fairies seemed to hear the commotion and had joined in the party do a strange dance of sorts in the air. She felt so relaxed and happy it was almost like she was in a dream. After all, who else could say they had a freaking dance party at Santa's workshop?

Jack was up several floors above her sitting on the railing and looking down at the scene before him. He was smiling softly, amusement dancing in his eyes, as he watched the girl bounce around with giant yetis he specifically remembered her being terrified of upon her first meeting them. He hugged his staff closer to him and leaned his head against a pillar to his side as he watched her. He seemed to only be watching her lately, but the more he did the more he started noticing about her. The way her eyes lit up when she smiled, her strong desire to protect them when she was the weakest of the group, the kind look she gave to Lance.

Though that last one was something he wished he hadn't noticed.

Jack knew deep down the Lance didn't seem to be after her heart, but what if Lyra fell for him anyway? It was one of the fears that picked at him day and night, and one of the reasons for his jealousy of the man on a daily basis. The two of them had become extremely close after their visit to France. Just what had happened between them during their trip?

Jack hated how mellow all these thoughts made him. He was slacking on pranks with the Kangaroo lately. He hadn't been out to create a major snow day since Lyra came home hurt. He was overall just being…not Jack. That in itself was frustrating.

He finally had come to the conclusion that he did, in fact, have a crush on Lyra. Though, now that he knew that he wasn't sure how to exactly act. How does one act when dealing with a crush? He didn't really want to tell her, something about the thought of her knowing scared the heck out of him, but he didn't know how to be.

He had a long talk with Carol after his discovery. Her eyes had shined with high amusement but she hid back the devious smile and instead smiled reassuringly at him.

"Jack, just be yourself." Easier said than done. He felt jittery and nervous, and he was terrified of the incident in Australia re-happening. Yet, he couldn't find the strength to leave her proximity for too long either.

It was making a very irritable boy.

"You keep staring and not acting and soon you'll be seeing another guy at her side." Jack jumped in shock, hitting his head on the pillar hard, before he spun around to see Lance leaning against the wall across the hall from him. He rubbed the now sore spot on his head in annoyance and glared at the man.

"What do you want Rainbow Boy?" He huffed before turning his attention back to where Lyra was screaming and laughing as a yeti lifted her up in the air to dance with her.

"I was just checking on my favorite two people! Is that a crime?"

"And they call me the stalker." Jack huffed as Lance sat down beside him to watch the girl as well.

"Why aren't you dancing with her? I can tell you want too." Lance sing-songed at the end of his sentence in a teasing manner. Jack resisted the urge to shove the man over the side of the railing.

"She's having fun. I'll leave her be." Jack softly said as he leaned back against the pillar. Lance smiled deviously.

"She's got a nice laugh. And smile. She's extremely beautiful in the lights right now, don't you think?"

"She is…" Jack softly trailed off while watching the girl before he realized what he just admitted. His face flushed and he glared darkly at the man beside him. "Why you-" Lance laughed happily at tricking his friend into admitting such a thing. Lance noticed a small red string around Jack's pinky finger beginning to form, but it was only about an inch long and was in no way attached to anything.

And here he hadn't even used his powers on the boy!

"Time for you to join her!" Lance called out as he shoved the boy off the railing. Jack fell forward from the sudden shove, and before he had a chance to grab the railing and stop the fall he fell two floors to land right on top of a yeti. The yeti sat up and glared at Jack. Jack chuckled nervously and saluted the creature.

"'Sup Phil. How's the party?" Phil the yeti just growled.

"Jack there you are!" Lyra cried out happily while holding her right hand out for him to take. He glared up darkly where Cupid was only to see the man was gone. He took her hand and she pulled him up to his feet. "I tell you Jack, if I didn't know any better I'd say your falling for me as much as you crash land on things when I'm around." She snickered causing Jack to groan.

"If only you knew…" He whispered mostly to himself. She didn't hear him as she changed the song and a new beat began playing. More fairies had join the party and it was almost like a club for the helping creatures. Lyra walked back over to Jack, grabbing his hands-well the best she could with the cast on her left hand-and begun dancing in a ridiculous way with him. He was startled at first but just shook his head before twirling her around and taking the lead of the dancing.

"Wow, who knew Jack Frost could dance?"

"Dancing and martial arts go hand in hand. I just so happen to be an expert in martial arts, so it's only natural I know how to dance!" Lyra considered it for a moment as he twirled her again.

"You should teach me!"

"Teach you what? How to dance? You're doing fine on your own."

"No stalker, how to fight." He paused in dancing and looked her for a moment. "Well, if I'm going to be helping you guys with this fight I should probably know how to properly defend myself, right?" He contemplated it for a long moment before nodding agreement.

"We can start tomorrow. I'll teach the basic's for self defense. If nothing else, I'll be able to leave you alone in town without thinking some guy might attack you. Though, I'm sure if you just start singing you'll scare them off pretty easily." He smirked deviously earning a punch in his shoulder from her good hand. "You also can throw a decent punch." He teased causing her to scowl.

"Jack! Lyra! North's home!" Both Lyra and Jack looked up to see Tooth above them waving for them to come to the living room for gifts. Both teenagers grinned at each other before turning the music off. Lyra held her hand out for him.

"Shall I guide you to make sure you don't lose any limbs to Carol's wrath?" He stared at her hand nervously for a moment, the jittery feeling filling his body again making him want to run from her.

'_Jack, just be yourself.'_ Jack took in a deep breath, smiled to her, and placed his hand into hers.

"You can try, but I'm sure I'll have found a way to irritate everyone by the end of the night." He smirked earning a shrug from the honey blonde girl.

"You're on your own after a certain point." He laughed and they walked, hand in hand, to the living room to celebrate Christmas.

* * *

Lyra absolutely loved her gifts. She had done some shopping for the Guardian's on her many travels around the globe, helping a few of them with picking their own gifts, but she felt her gifts to them were nothing in comparison to the ones she got.

Tooth had gotten her a large basket full of nothing but oral hygiene items. There was probably enough toothbrushes, paste, and mouthwash to last her a year. She couldn't help laughing at the irony of the gift, but thanked the fairy woman none-the-less.

Bunny had given her a hat that reminded her of something Hot Topic would sell, only this one was much more colorful. It had long rabbit ears on it and was decorated in all different pastel colors the reminded her of the eggs she so often saw him painting. She was currently wearing it happily making the rabbit smirk smugly at Jack.

Carol had given her a special recipe book that she herself had wrote. She put a note inside mentioning that if she was going to be the one showing Jack's all the different foods of the world she might as well have a decent cook book to try. She flipped through it to see it was full of not only recipes from all over the world, but pictures of the creations as well.

Lance had given her a bracelet with a bunch of little heart charms all over it. She had smiled at it and put it on immediately, much to Jacks' dissatisfaction, and had thanked the man.

"Jewelry is the true way to win a woman's heart. After all, you know the say. Every kiss begins with kay!" He laughed and puckered his lips up to her causing her to place her hand on his mouth and push his head away. Jack pelted the guy in the face with a rather large snowball immediately after causing both Jack and Lyra to laugh at the glare from the man.

North had given her a camera. She looked at it oddly for a moment, already having a camera at home, before North smiled deviously at her.

"Camera takes pictures of everything!" He proudly stated. She just stared at him blankly.

"Don't camera's usually do that?"

"No no!" He took the camera and pushed her beside Jack. Jack looked at North curiously before the large man lifted the camera to take a picture of them. "Say Cookie!"

"It's say Cheese you sweets maniac!" Bunny mumbled from behind the large man. Jack shrugged and placed his arm around Lyra's shoulder before both started making silly faces at the camera. North took a picture and handed it back to the girl, and she overjoyed to see that Jack was actually in the picture with her!

She remembered she had mentally asked for something like this when she was in Australia!

"How did you know?" She stared at him in awe. He winked at her before placing a finger in front of his lips.

"It is secret!"

Next was Sandy's gift. It was small jar full of golden sand that seemed to dance and change into different shapes constantly. It went from candy canes to dolphins in a matter of moments and just kept going. She stared at it in awe before smiling at the mute man.

"It's beautiful!" He beamed up at her happily.

Last was Jack's gift. He seemed nervous about giving it to her. He kept looking over at North, who apparently had helped him with the design of it, before he finally held out a small box for her. She smiled and took it from him. Un-wrapping it and taking the lid off the box she found a silver locket in the shape of a snowflake inside. She picked it up by it's chain to look at it properly before she smiled to Jack.

"It's beautiful Jack." He sighed in relief before walking over and showing her a small button on it. She pushed the button and opened the locket expecting to find a picture of some sort. Instead, she was met by a soft lullaby sounding tune playing from inside of it. Her eyes widened in shock as she listen to the song for once not knowing what song it was.

"It's something I made up. The song that is. I'm not as good as you with music, but I figured you'd enjoy originality more than over-used things." He was smiling nervously. She held it up to him after closing it.

"Will you put it on for me?"

He did just that. The chain was rather long allowing for the locket to comfortably rest on her chest. She looked at it with adoration before smiling up at the winter spirit.

"I almost feel bad I didn't get you anything this good. However, for humors sake I just couldn't resist." Jack eyed her warily as she handed him a box.

He opened it up to find a new hoodie, one that had a giant heart on the front and a giant Easter egg on the back. Jack looked at it in horror before tossing the present back at her and glaring at her.

"Not a chance! I've told you people a million times I like my clothes! I'm not changing them! Especially into something like that!" Lyra held the shirt up in disappointment.

"Aw, but Bunny and Lance and I worked so hard sewing in the designs of your two best friends! You don't want to keep their symbols close to you Jack?" She pouted cutely.

"No way in hell."

"Come on mate, the color matches yer eyes!" Bunny was laughing off to the side. Lance was also laughing.

"And I think the heart suit your perfectly! For more than one reason!" Jack glared darkly at both of them before looking back at Lyra. Silence filled the room before finally everyone around him just busted into laughter at his expense.

"Oh yeah, laugh it up. See who has blizzards on their holidays this year." He smirked in triumph as everyone but Carol and Lyra shut up.

"No, in all seriousness, here's your real gift." She was giggling as she handed him another box.

He opened it up to see a book. On top of the book was a photograph. He lifted the photograph to see it was of Lyra and the kids all holding peace signs. He smiled at it before smiling up at Lyra.

"I figured since you grew so attached to them you'd like a picture of them. Capture the moment type of thing." He nodded in agreement before lifting of the book to see it was a children's book.

A children's book about him!

"This was just recently published. According to my research, a certain believer talked so much about his hero that his babysitter published a book about him." Jack look at her in shock before flipping through the book. There were drawings that resembled him all throughout the book. Jack swallowed hard as the reality finally set in.

There was a book about him. About _him_!

"Jamie…" He could feel tears pricking in the back of his eyes but he refused to show it to anyone. "That kid…" He mumbled in a loving tone.

"Speaking of which, Jack, you should take me to meet Jamie. I've been excited since you told m the story of meeting your first believer."

"I'd love to take you to meet him." Jack wouldn't have wanted to take anyone else more than Lyra to meet the person who gave him a reason to become a Guardian.

Meanwhile, in the globe room, several lights flickered out all at once. It wasn't enough lights for the alarm to be set, but it was a rather large amount. A large amount of lights disappearing as children began falling to Pitch and Leon's sick, cruel plan.

* * *

**Author's Note: So I know I haven't exactly touched upon this so called fight that shall happen between Leon and Pitch against the others. There is a reason for that. I will be bringing in all the action drama stuff soon, but I'm setting it up per say. I need specific plot sections to occur before it can happen, so that the rest of the plot flows the way I want. So, once again, this is a slow moving story. Don't hate. D:**

**Thank you all for your wonderful reviews! I can't believe I reached 80! So wonderful this feeling I have right now!**

**Also, shout out to Moonveil who kicked me and told me to hurry up and produce this chapter. I was having a slight writers block but since she posted her new RoTG fiction up I figured I should return the favor! Thanks Sis!**


	13. Chapter 13: Vulnerability

**Disclaimer: RoTG not mine. ;D This is a bit of a short chapter but I do still hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

Lyra knew that she couldn't let Leon continue to hurt people as relentlessly as he had been. The humans of the world were beginning to notice that something weird was going on. Natural disasters were one thing, but continuous deaths like he was causing was easily determined as noticeable and wrong.

These people had done absolutely nothing wrong. Well, at least, not that she was aware of.

She kept trying to reach him every moment of every day. Desperately calling out and trying to get him to see reason. To have him hear her and the words she so desperately needed to speak to him. He, however, wouldn't listen.

Finally, she had enough. She could feel him nearby, could feel the anger radiating from his being into the night sky. She could tell he was distracted, but by what she wasn't sure. After she grew closer and closer to him she realized just what was distracting him so.

Lance.

Her small feet touched the soft grass on the ground in a largely wooded area that reminded her of a forest of sorts. She couldn't even remember what continent she was on having flown here without purely thinking about it. She stared ahead of her to see Leon's back facing her. The moon was shining above them, though it was only a half moon so it wasn't nearly as bright as it could have been, but the way it illuminated the man before caused her heart to speed up. Her hands started shaking in fear as pure hatred and anger flowed off the man.

This wasn't her precious Leon.

Things began moving far too quickly afterwards. She had been so entranced by the man in front of her she hadn't even realized that Lance was on the ground in front of him. She heard his weak voice curse at his brother followed by Leon's deep, sadistic laughter. Leon lifted his hand, a sharp silver spear gripped by it, before she heard his voice. The voice she had grown to love and adore.

"You will die, and you won't be able to do anything about it." He went to thrust the spear into Lance's chest before Lyra found herself screaming at the man. She drew the dagger from her side pouch and swung the blade up quickly sending a bolt of air as sharp as the blade she wielded straight towards the man. His head jerked in surprise before he moved out of the way allowing her attack to slice a tree behind where he was nearly in half.

He landed a few feet away from her in a crouch, before standing up fully and walking into an area full of moonlight. He was tall, about five feet eleven, and wore a black button up long-sleeved shirt that showed his muscle definition quite well. A pair of loose black dress pants covered his long legs along with a pair of black shoes on his feet. His hair was pure black; cut in layers and not very long in length.

The most noticeable thing about Leon that caused Lyra's heart to stop was his eyes. His once vibrant, beautiful green orbs where now a deep crimson that reminded her of blood. They were wide in shock at seeing her before a scowl crossed his thin, pale lips. She noticed him grip the spear tighter.

"Leon, would you please just listen to me?" Lyra begged without lowering her weapon. This wasn't her Leon. Lance had been right that he had changed, that he had been consumed. She had to try and reach him!

"Aria…" His voice was barely a whisper before a dark aura started leaking from his body. He held his free hand up as an orb of gray energy began building up in his palm. "Come to help Lance, have you? I figured you would show up eventually. You always did seem to favor him more than me." Lyra gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes as she watched him build up the energy.

"Leon you idiot. Why can't you see you were always the one I wanted? Just stop and come home. Please!" He scoffed at her confession before rolling his eyes.

"Oh now you want me? You think lying to me about how you feel is going to make me stop? I don't have time for your lies, Aria!" He screamed at her before letting go of the orb in his hand. It flew towards Lyra at an amazing speed.

Just before it hit her, her eyes locked once more with crimson ones as a sick smirk crossed the love of her life's lips.

"If I can't have you no one will."

* * *

Lyra was jolted awake from cold snow being dropped on top of her. In addition to the sudden attack she was about to receive in her dream her body went into temporary shock causing her to gasp out desperately for oxygen she felt like she couldn't seem to get. She was choking, she felt extremely cold yet she was sweating, and she reached out in front of her as if there was a lifeline to grip onto. She felt a cold hand grab onto hers and pull her up from the bed. She still couldn't get enough air but she was getting more now that she was lifted up.

"Lyra! Lyra I'm sorry are you okay? What happened? It was just some snow I didn't mean to hurt you!" She could make out Jack's voice crying out desperately trying to understand what was wrong with her. Tears fell down her cheeks as her breathing started settling down. She closed her eyes and concentrated on taking deep breaths until her body realized she wasn't in danger and stopped pumping adrenaline through her veins.

After calming down Lyra opened her eyes to see she was in Jack's lap. He was watching her closely, one of his hands against her cheek, and he looked absolutely terrified. She smiled reassuringly at him before placing her good hand on his. She pulled it off her cheek and gave it a loving squeeze.

"I'm okay. Sorry about that."

"What the hell just happened!? I've woken you up like that before and you've never reacted like that! I thought you were drowning or something!" He was on the verge of screaming but she paid no mind to it as her mind wandered else where.

"Can you drown in snow?" She asked aloud causing the winter spirit to want to smack his head against something.

"Lyra." He spoke in a warning tone causing her to sigh and learn her head against his shoulder.

"I was attacked in my dream about the same time your put the snow on me. I guess my body couldn't tell where I was so it reacted like that. A form of a night terror maybe?" She questioned mostly to herself before feeling Jack relax against her body. He sighed heavily and rested his chin against the top of her head.

"Giving me a damn heart attack." He muttered darkly. She grinned evilly before yawning and looking at the alarm clock on her nightstand.

To see it was four in the freaking morning!

"Jack. Why the hell are you waking me up at _four in the damn morning!_" She hissed out as she glared at the white haired boy. He grinned mischievously at her before tapping his chin in a thinking manner. He was toying with her which only served to fuel her irritation.

"You said you wanted to start learning self-defense. Well, we have to start now if we want to get everything we planned done today! You did want to still go see Jamie, right?" Lyra groaned loudly before pulling away from the cold spirit and crawling back under her now wet blankets.

"So early…" She whined causing him to yank the blankets away.

"Up up up!" He laughed before standing up and looking down at her. She glared defiantly at him before rolling over. He just shrugged before grabbing the mattress and completely flipping it. His laughter was all that met her ears as she tried to figure out how to not only peel her face off the floor but how to properly murder an immortal.

After he helped get the mattress off her she forcefully kicked him out of the room for her to get dressed. Would fire kill a winter spirit? Seemed plausible. She wondered if there were any cans of hairspray and lighters laying around the workshop.

After taking a quick shower and getting dressed Lyra went down to the kitchen-she had finally made a mental map of the workshop-to find something quick to eat before she was forced to jumped around with a hyperactive boy. He was already in the kitchen digging through Carol's cabinets in a similar fashion as to what he had done to Lyra's kitchen. She groaned before grabbing a banana from the counter and peeling it. She went to lift it to her mouth to take a bite when suddenly a cold hand grabbed hers and a mouth of pearly white teeth took a bite of her banana. Jack let go of her hand with a thoughtful look on his face before he nodded and picked up his own banana to eat.

"You ate my food! You whore!" He raised an eyebrow at her before laughing.

"Whore? Such vulgar terms for such a pretty face." She smirked evilly before taking an equal sized bite from his banana before he had a chance. He softly cursed under his breath but ate the rest of it without a second thought.

"Oh, so you think I'm pretty?" He choked on the food he was in the process of swallowing. His cheeks flushed and she banged his back hard helping him to get the food down properly. She laughed and held up a victory sign while Jack just glared at her.

"Maybe on the outside, but on the inside you are pure evil." She bowed before winking at him.

"Oh sir, you're too kind! So what's the agenda today?" He took her peeling from her and tossed both his and hers into the trash before crossing his arms across his chest and giving her a stern look.

"Today, young grasshopper, you shall learn to defend yourself. Then, we'll be going on a trip to see my best friend where we will then proceed to have the ultimate snowball fight before we come home and sleep!" Sounded simple enough. She yawned loudly before nodding in understanding.

"Let's get too it then." He then led her down to an area he had cleared the night before-after fighting with North for hours about why he really needed the spot- where there was a soft mat on the ground. He bounced onto it happily before turning to her.

Jack went over the basics of self defense with her being careful of her broken wrist the whole time. He would flip her, always making sure she didn't fall to hard on the ground. He would constantly point out her areas of protecting; one time flipping her arm behind her back and placing a finger against her throat claiming he could have killed her right then and there. She gulped at how easily someone could be killed from the simple moves he was doing. Sure she had known it was like this with all the movies she had seen, but being a part of the action first hand was a real eye-opener.

He was overall very gentle but very stern teaching her. He was really good at what he did. She briefly let the thought that if Jack had been alive he would have made a good school teacher pass her mind before she was trapped in another lock. Jack went to place his finger to 'kill' her before she swung her free elbow back, hard, and hit him square this the stomach. He gasped in shock not having expected her to do that before releasing her. She turned to check on him as he bent over holding his stomach before he suddenly grabbed her around her waist and tossed them both onto the floor.

She yelped in surprise from the sudden attack before noticing he had somehow moved his hand up to protect her head from hitting the floor from the sudden tackle. She opened her eyes to see icy blue one staring into hers. He was extremely close, his one hand still behind her head and his other hand still on the side of her waist. He slowly trailed the hand from her waist up her side causing her to shiver from the sudden contact before he placed his finger into another vital area.

"You let your guard down again." He softly said before a small smirk crossed his lips. "So, even though you did attempt to get free and it worked, you're still dead." She huffed before closing her eyes.

"Have I gotten any better at this?" She almost whined. They had been at this for hours and yet she kept 'dying'. He just chuckled as a response.

"Sure you have, but you're not going to be a master after just a few hours. The main thing is to not be trusting. When you knock them off you, run, and don't look back. Though I don't plan on letting you be alone for too long anyway, so if you can run I can handle the rest I'm sure." She smiled softly before opening her eyes to see he hadn't moved from over her.

"Stalker, you can't follow me my whole life you know." A strange emotion that Lyra couldn't read crossed his face before he just smiled at her.

"Why not? I have to help your pretty hairs turn gray" He lifted up a lock of her hair with a thoughtful look. "I mean, who else drives you crazy but me?" She couldn't argue with that statement.

"I'm going to grow old Jack." He closed his eyes as she kept talking. "I'll have to get married, start a family, grow old, and pass on into the next world. Are you still going to be there when all of that happens? Should you be? What about when I'm gone. What will you do after being so attached to me for so long?" He was gritting his teeth by this point, a pained look crossing his face.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." He leaned his forehead against hers and sighed heavily. "I don't want to think about it. Not yet. Let's just focus on the now."

Lyra lifted her hand up to rest against his cheek before smiling softly. "I think I might know the song that describes you in my life Jack." His eyes opened and he looked at her with curiosity. "I can't sing it for you yet, however, I need more time to be sure." Jack was disappointed but nodded in understanding.

"Soon then? I've been waiting since we met to see how your little musical mind works." She laughed before smiling.

"That all depends on you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I am so sorry!" A sudden female voice interrupted their conversation causing both of them too look over and see Tooth covering her eyes. "I didn't mean to interrupt. I didn't know you guys were doing that in here and I'm so sorry so please continue. I'm leaving I swear!"

"Doing what exactly?" Lyra blinked in confusion while Jack's whole face turned red at the realization that he had once again been found by the Guardians on top of Lyra. "Tooth no worries, Jack was just teaching me self defense!"

"Is that what they call it these days?" Tooth giggled before flying off causing Jack to let his head to fall and face-plant on the mat beside Lyra's body.

"Shall we head on to go see Jamie?" Lyra sat up to look at Jack sulking on the ground mumbling something about how 'he'd never hear the end of it'. She just laughed before pushing him roughly to get his attention. "Come on! Let's go!" He sighed heavily before sitting up, ruffling his hair all over the place only for it to fall right back into place, and hopping up to glide a few inches above the ground.

"Off to Burgess we go!"

* * *

Lyra stood in front of a cute little house with Jack standing beside her. They had made up a story to get Lyra to meet Jamie without his parents being suspicious of a strange girl wanting to see an eight year old boy. Lyra was a teaching assistant at his school recently and had grown to be friends with the boy. She was in town and had decided to check up on some of her favorite students and therefore was now standing on the Bennett porch pressing a doorbell.

They waited for a long moment before assuming that they must not be home. Jack frowned while Lyra looked around at the town.

"Well now what?" She asked before Jack shrugged.

"We can walk around town for a while see if Aria reacts while we wait?"

"Sounds like a good idea."

"Hey you!" Lyra and Jack's attention was drawn as someone was walking down the sidewalk past the house. The man was looking at Lyra-obviously not seeing Jack- before motioning the Bennett house.

"If you're looking for them you're looking in the wrong place. They've been staying up at the hospital for the past week or so." Lyra noticed Jack tense in worry beside her before smiling to the random man.

"Thank you for telling me! I'll head there right now. Do you happen to know why they're there though?" The man looked at her oddly for a long moment.

"You don't know? Little Jamie caught that weird illness that's going around the world lately. He's currently in a coma and hasn't been able to wake up. You should watch the news. It's all over the place how children are falling in comas and crying out like they're in some strange nightmare or something."

The temperature around Lyra dropped drastically as Jack's eyes widen in disbelief.

* * *

**Author's Note: D: Not Jamie! This should be something that will kick Jack into gear, you agree? ;D I hope everyone has a good Sunday(since it's technically 5 am here XD) and what not! Thanks for the reviews and follows and favorites! ;D I can't believe we're so close to a hundred reviews! I SERIOUSLY LOVE YOU GUYS! I NEVER expected this to happen when I came out of my hiatus, but I am SO thankful that I have! *cookies for everyone!* Don't worry, the elves haven't licked this batch of cookies ;D**


	14. Chapter 14: Useless

**Disclaimer: RoTG is not mine. Lyra, however, is and I love her to death ;D**

* * *

"Jack wait!" Lyra called out as Jack briskly walked down the porch stairs and took off down the sidewalk. The man who had informed her of Jamie's condition stared at her oddly before looking around to see he was the only person around.

"I'm not Jack…" She ran past the man without a second glance to chase after the winter spirit.

"Jack please wait up!" She called out again as she disappeared out of sight. The man stood watching after her before shaking his head and walking the opposite direction.

"Someone needs to lock these crazy people up these days." He muttered.

Meanwhile, Lyra found herself to be out of breath when she finally caught the blue sleeve of Jack's hoodie and yanked him to a stop. His blue eyes held a sharp edge to them, one she hadn't really seen before, and she could tell he was extremely upset.

"Lyra we have to go to him." She bent over and placed her hands on her knees to try and catch her breath. The cool air was making the burning from her lungs stronger than it should have been and thus making it a bit hard to calm her erratic breathing.

"Just…wait…" She wheezed out. They were already across the town and close to the hospital from what she could see. How the heck had he moved so quickly across this place she couldn't seem to figure out. She was just glad she caught him. He huffed before turning to face her fully and waiting for her to speak properly.

"Jack, we can't just barge into a hospital." A deep scowl crossed his features before he turned his back to her and started walking again. "Damn it Jack!" She grabbed him and spun him around to glare at him. He returned the glare full force.

"You might not be able to go to the hospital but I _have_ to go. Do what you want until then." He went to turn away but upon seeing the hurt look cross her features he sighed softly before pulling her into a hug. "Look, I'm not trying to be mean. I have to go to him. He's…"

"Jack if you would just listen I'm trying to tell you that you can go to him, but I'm going back to the North Pole." He pulled back and nodded in understanding.

"You'll be safer there." She shook her head at him and pulled out a snow globe.

"I'm going to get Sandy. If what the guy said about it being like a nightmare is correct then Sandy should probably be able to counter attack in some way." Jack smirked slightly before nodding in agreement.

"That's a good idea. We'll meet in Jamie's room then? You can just use that story-"

"I won't be meeting Jamie just yet Jack. If he is in the hospital I can almost guaranteed you that I will not be welcomed. In situations like this parents are super protective of their children, and they will most likely only allow close friends and family to visit. I'll be around the hospital if you need me."

He nodded once more in understanding before lightly tapping her on the head with his staff and hurrying off towards the hospital. She sighed heavily as she watched him leave before looking up at the sky at the gray clouds.

"What could they be up too I wonder…" She mumbled under her breath before looking around for a building to hide behind. After spotting one she ran behind it, being careful to not be seen, before whispering to the snow globe and tossing it in front of her. She quickly jumped into the portal. She knew she would land decently without Jack's help after gaining some experience from her recent snow globe continent traveling, but a misplaced elf caused her to stumble in an attempt to not stomp it to death. She landed in a stack of toys that the yetis began working on for Christmas next year.

Needless to say, she earned a lot of disgruntled yells from some large, white creatures. She grinned up at them nervously before apologizing and running off to find the mute guardian.

She found him in the living area asleep in a corner. North was sitting in a large recliner with a cup of steaming hot cocoa. She took a moment to point out to North he had some cocoa in his mustache before she shook Sandy awake. He blinked up at her before yawning and putting a question mark over his head.

"Pitch and Leon have made a move. At least, I think they have. We're not certain. I'm going to go do more research, but in the meantime I really need you to help Jamie."

"Pitch has made move? How so?" North asked standing up from his chair. Lyra turned to look at him,

"Apparently some kind of illness is going around causing children to fall into comas. The reason is unknown, but the guy told me they're crying out like they're trapped in some sort of nightmare. I don't know the full details, but if anyone can help with a nightmare I figured it would be Sandy."

"You thought well. Sandy go with her. I will look into this from globe!" With that the large man wandered out of the living room and out of sight.

"Can you help Sandy?" Sandy yawned once more before nodding. He held his hand out for her and she placed her own hand in his smaller one before he proceeded to literally drag her out of the workshop.

"Sandy I can walk just fine." She sighed in defeat before she was pulled outside. He started to make a sand airplane to drive while Lyra stood up straight and watched. She merely shook her head before dropping the snow globe she had pulled out so that the warp appeared underneath them.

They landed back in the alley way she had used to travel to the pole in a pile causing Sandy to give her a dark look with sand bursting from his ears.

"Come on Sandy, this was faster!" He scowled and got up, dusted himself up though Lyra was sure he'd never get the sand off him no matter how much he did that, before he looked around curiously. "I'll lead you to the hospital. I saw it before I came home." She walked out of the alley and looked around before spotting it. She waved for him to follow before beginning to sprint in the direction.

Sandy went into the building in what appeared to be a mission impossible pose without Lyra as she looked at the size of the place. The hospital was a bit on the smaller size, the one of her home town being larger than this, and it looked like it was about as annoying and terrifying as any other hospital. She sighed softly before looking around to see what else was in town. She wondered if there was a library nearby so she could use a computer?

It was times like this she wish she had her truck and GPS. With one final glance at the hospital she went to ask the first local person she could find about a library.

"Jack has Sandy with him. He'll be okay until I get back." She spoke aloud to herself as an attempt to reassure herself. She could tell the boys emotions were crazy lately, and she wasn't sure just how Jamie's comatose state was going to effect them.

She wanted to be with him. Be by his side to assure him that they would do everything they could for Jamie. Right now, she knew that she was unable to do such a thing. He needed to be there for Jamie, and since she wasn't going to push parents who were already stressed out with her presence she needed to do everything she could to help Jack from the human world.

After getting directions from a random woman she found the library relatively easily. It wasn't too far from the hospital, only being about a mile or two away, but she knew with all the walking she had done after meeting Jack she wouldn't need the gym membership she had bought weeks before him tumbling through her roof.

"Excuse me ma'am, I was wondering if you have computers I could use? I need to do some research." Lyra politely asked the tan skinned woman behind the desk at the library's entrance. The woman raised an eyebrow at her before rolling her eyes and speaking in the most annoying, nasally voice Lyra had ever heard.

"Research she says! Probably here to look up inappropriate things like the rest of the kids your age." She pointed to the left. "They're over there, but so help me if you so much as make a noise or look up something that is not "research" then I will have you out of here faster than you can say Overdue!" Lyra held her hands up in surrender before backing away from the desk.

"Woah chill lady, I was just asking. Thanks anyway….I guess." Lyra turned and walked off seeing that the woman was clearly unsettled by her rude answer. She plopped down in a chair beside another teenager and proceeded to look up what she could.

She skimmed several different news websites all saying the same thing. '_Unexplained comas.', 'Nightmares on attack?', 'Medical science unable to treat new illness.' _A lot of useless information. For the most part. From what Lyra could gather, children were going to sleep perfectly normal and healthy before just unexplainably falling into a coma while in their sleep. Many children were showing signs of nightmares, but it was absolutely impossible to wake the children up from them. That was another thing, it was only affecting children.

So far, there were at least forty cases documented of the illness.

She started skimming the list of children's names that had been released to the public that apparently had been affected by the illness and nearly choked when she saw two names she never wanted to see.

Michael and Mattieu Harrison. "The twins…." She whispered softly as she stared at their names. No, it couldn't be them. She was gripping the mouse so tightly that when she finally pulled her hand from the machine her knuckles felt cramped. She closed off the websites she had pulled up and quickly made her way out of the library. Payphone. She needed to find a payphone. This is what she gets for not bringing her cell phone with her.

She eventually found an old payphone box after searching around the town for a place to make long-distance calls. She put in some coins she still had and dialed the number to the Harrison Family cell phone.

"Hello?" An exhausted sounding voice finally answered the phone. Lyra sighed in relief at her answering an unknown number.

"Ann, it's Lyra! The boys, are they-?"

"Oh Lyra! It's terrible!" The woman on the phone began crying to her and Lyra got all the answer she needed. Her heart clenched in fear and her hands started shaking. Her precious friends were in pain because of those two.

She felt a fire burning inside of her. This was not only hurting Jack, this was also hurting her, and it was only a matter of time before Guardians started feeling the effects as a whole.

"What can you tell me about what happened?" Lyra spoke softly trying desperately to keep her emotions in check. She couldn't let herself become angry or upset over this. She needed to stay logical.

"Blake was spending the night. He came into my room screaming about black sand and when I went to check on the room the boys wouldn't wake up! We've been here ever since!" The woman choked out before Lyra sighed softly. Blake was safe, for now at least.

They spoke for a few more moments before Ann got to the point she couldn't form proper words over her tears. Lyra told her to go get some rest and that she sends her love before hanging up the phone. She rested her head against the payphone letting everything soak in.

Black sand? Hadn't Jack mentioned that before? She pinched the bridge of her nose before turned and walking back towards the hospital. The sun would be setting soon, and she would have to see just how well Sandy's attempts had worked. Maybe, if it was successful, he would be kind and help her boys.

She made her way back to the hospital and looked at the building once more. She couldn't just loiter outside or she was sure security would start questioning her and she didn't feel up to making any more lies. She looked around for a place to spend her time while she waited for the boys to be done.

Eventually she used a snow globe to get onto the roof of the building where she laid back and stared up at the gray sky. She had to admit, she missed her truck but snow globe traveling was becoming her best friend.

It was chilly out but her clothes kept responding to the different changes in temperature and making sure to keep her body at the perfect level. She appreciated Carol more and more with each day her clothes kept her comfortable.

Lyra fell into a light nap as she waited for the boys to appear with news on Jamie. She had briefly considered going home while she waited but realized Jack would throw a fit if he couldn't find her after she said she would come back. It wasn't until she felt the temperature drop and the soft padding of feet making their way towards her that she was pulled out of her half-conscious state. She opened her eyes just in time to see Jack standing above her, his eyes covered by the shadow of his hair. He plopped down Indian style beside her and hugged his staff close to him. Lyra slowly sat up to see his shoulders were drooping, his bangs still covered his beautiful blue eyes, and his knuckles on the staff he was holding where whiter than normal. She slowly reached her hand out to place on his, gently prying his hand from the staff that he held in a deathly grip.

"Jack, talk to me. What happened with Sandy?" His hands started shaking and she placed her other hand on top to calm him down.

"He's not waking up." She could barely hear him he was speaking so softly. His voice sounded like it was shaking. She leaned in and lifted his chin to see there were tears in his eyes. He clamped them shut tightly allowing the cold drops of salt water to fall down his pale cheeks. He took in a shuddering voice before pulling his hand away from her. "He won't wake up and it's my fault! Sandy has been trying everything but he's not able to reach Jamie! I should have been here! I should have found Pitch and stopped him!"

Lyra's heart felt tight as she watched the fun, loving Jack beat himself up and take all the blame for something he had no control over. This reaction, this Jack, was much darker than the Jack he always let her see. She didn't like this Jack, and wanted nothing more than to understand and heal this side of him. She went to reach for him again only for him to jerk from her grasp. She pulled her hand back and let it rest in her lap before turning to look up at the now dark sky. He dropped his staff and pulled his knees up to his chest before resting his forehead on them.

"Jack, we're going to stop him." He didn't respond. She sighed heavily before she crawled over beside him and wrapped her arms around his body similar to how her mother used to do to her when she would cry. He was trembling, but she knew it wasn't from the cold. She started running her fingers through his hair in a soothing motion.

"Jack, we're going to stop them. They're still not strong enough. How's this? I'm going to keep looking for Aria's host, while you and the others start spreading out and looking? We'll go into Guardian overtime mode!"

He didn't answer. They sat there for a good fifteen minutes before Jack sat up fully and looked ahead of him. His eyes were clear, a new determination evident in the boys mind. Lyra pulled back from him and watched him closely.

"I'll kill him this time." Jack's voice was dark and low. Lyra briefly remembered him speaking like this to Lance when he brought her home from France. She quickly placed her hands on both side of his face and forced him to look at her.

"You will not fight like this." She said with force he look blankly at her.

"Fight like what? Is it wrong to want to destroy someone like him? Watch him suffer the same way he makes people suffer?" Lyra smacked both of his cheeks with her hands, placing them back in the same position she had them before. She looked at him with a glare.

"You're not like him Jack. You will not fight like this. You will not fight with your heart clouded with anger." He growled softly before pulling away from her.

"How else do you expect me to fight?!" He yelled at her. She gritted her teeth but held her ground.

"Your mind becomes clouded when you fight under the influence of anger! You will not see things for how they are and you will mistakes! Fight with love. Love is the strongest thing to not only fight for but to fight with. Fight under the pretense of the love you have for Jamie! Fight for him, not for the anger you feel from his being hurt."

"What, are you that close with Lance that you have to throw love in my face?" He half joked. His tenseness was dying down and his shoulders were slumping down again. He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair before glaring up at the sky.

"No, it's not Lance. It's Leon." Jack's eyes widened slightly as he looked at her. She hadn't met Leon. Hell, she hadn't even really met Pitch yet.

"Leon?"

"Leon's mind was clouded by the anger he felt from his powers. That's why he… I understand what you've been trying to tell me Aria." She whispered mostly to herself. "I see why she wanted to save him."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you like I did."

"You're under a lot of pressure, Jack. I understand. I know how you feel. Michael and Matt are in the hospital too." Lyra watched the boy jerk in surprise before he gritted his teeth.

"I'm…not…angry…" He muttered trying to convince Lyra he wasn't angry. She just laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Better work harder on that anger management. So what's going on? Is Sandy still trying?" About that time the golden man appeared on the roof with them looking exhausted compared to his normal tired side. He had used a lot of power on Jamie and still had no response. Lyra walked over and hugged the depressed looking man.

"There's nothing we can do for Jamie here. Let's regroup and retry. It's time we stop playing games." Lyra stood back up and Jack nodded in agreement.

"To the North Pole then?" Jack asked. Lyra pulled out a snow globe but stopped as her eyes caught something in the distance behind Jack. She ran past him to get a better look as a nightmare horse ran across the sky not to far off from the hospital.

"That's-!"

"Lyra go to the Pole now!" Jack yelled at her as both him and Sandy dived off the side of the building to go after the creature that could ultimately lead them to their goal.

Lyra stood there, snow globe in hand, trying to decide whether she should follow after her friends or go back to the North Pole like she was instructed.

* * *

**Author's Note: 100 REVIEWS! I got the email with the 100th review while I was at work. I proceeded to squeal, jump up and a down, and get looked at extremely oddly by my fellow co-workers. You would honestly think they would be used to that, but alas this was not the case XD I know this is another short chapter, and it's mostly just me putting some information in the story. I wish it was more exciting but I failed at that aspect. On that note, as payment for my wonderful reviewers! I am actually going to start working on the next chapter now! It should be out either tonight or tomorrow! Depends on how well it allows itself to write XD THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT!**


	15. Chapter 15: Nightmare

**Disclaimer: Same as always. RoTG is not mine. If you're just tuning in make sure you read the chapter before this one! Since this is the second chapter in one night ;D**

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'_Ah screw it!'_ Lyra mentally said as she rolled her shoulders and prepared herself. '_A story is never interesting when the main character just stands on the sidelines.'_ She nodded in agreement with herself before tossing the snow globe over the side of the hospital roof and building up her courage. She jumped off the side of the roof and landed in the warp ending up on the ground about a mile from the hospital.

"I wish I had my shovel…" She loudly noted before taking off running in the direction she could see the beginnings of Sandy's and Jack's fight. It was hard to believe that people couldn't see the bright flashes of gold and blue appearing every few seconds. She was no where near the fight and she could still see the bloody things!

She felt Aria's jar hitting her leg with each step she took and she briefly wondered if maybe it was a bad idea to be heading after them. She was taking the chance of jeopardizing the charm that Aria had placed over them both. Aria, however, usually reacted in some way when she was potentially about to break the charm. That meant that she must be okay to go after them if Aria hadn't stopped her.

Maybe that also meant that Leon and Pitch were not in the area.

The unsettling thing that bothered her is the fact that even though she had only seen one nightmare the attacks from her team kept flashing over and over. How many nightmares could they possibly be fighting?

Her lungs where clenching up as her breathing became labored the more she ran. The cool air was sharp against her throat. She was hot from the blood pumping so much through her body. When she finally arrived at the park area the fighting was occurring her body went ice cold with fear.

The whole area was covered in darkness. Creatures were surrounding Jack and Sandy in an unimaginable amount. The difference was these weren't your typical nightmares. The horse ones were larger, more menacing. There were different shapes as well. Slow moving creatures that briefly reminded her of how zombies moved in movies. They looked human in that aspect, but they had no face on them what-so-ever. There were dog looking creatures that were loudly growling and foaming black sand from their mouths. The one that struck Lyra's fear the most were the ones that were in the form of skeletons. A horrible, high pitch laughter was coming from them, and it was enough to make Lyra want to cover her ears and cry for them to stop.

"S-So, Sandy, think this is a pretty creepy upgrade?" She heard Jack attempt a joke but it fell quickly as another attack was launched and they were left fending for their lives.

Jack was quick in his movements. It was like watching water dance the way he moved, and it was a little disheartening for Lyra to see just how much he had been holding back when teaching her self defense. He wasn't kidding when he said martial arts and dancing went hand in hand. He literally looked like he was dancing, and his beloved staff was his dancing partner. The bolts of ice he would shoot out were a beautiful blue and she felt herself being freed from the fear that had frozen her in place. Jack made her feel courageous. She could do this if Jack could do this.

After all, he might not consider it, but he was her partner now in her mind. If he fought then she was going to help him.

She yelped as one of the very creatures she didn't want to deal with appeared in front of her face. The skeleton of sand did that high pitch laughter thus putting fear right back into her. It pulled it's hand back to strike her and it was like time slowed down long enough to let her think. Jack had said the children defeated the nightmares last time just touching them, right? So, she reached up and bluntly grabbed the hand the skeleton was going to strike her with.

Only to have not a damn thing happen.

"What the hell man! Why doesn't it work?" Lyra cried out in anger before an unimaginable amount of fear started to fill her body. Images of blood, death, undead, torn up bodies and unbearable scenes started unfolding in her mind causing her to retch and want to throw up the lunch she had completely enjoyed early that day. The skeleton recovered from it's confusion and swung at her with it's free hand. She jerked back from it just in time to dodge the attack aimed for her head. The images kept playing over and over in her mind causing her to fall onto her knees and gripped her ears. She willed the images to go away, for the pure fear to leave her being, but it wasn't work.

'_Help!_'' She felt the jar on her side pulse softly before another image plagued her mind.

'_Help me. Make it stop!'_ She mentally cried out as another pulse came from her jar. The skeleton gave a war cry and charged at her but before she could properly prepare to defend herself a strong gust of wind sent the creature flying away from her. Her eyes went wide in shock. She looked down at the jar on her side, tears threatening to spill from her eyes, before softly whispering to the wind.

"Thank you Aria."

"Sandy behind you!" She heard Jack scream out before he jumped in front of a joint attack from several of the left over nightmares. She noticed their numbers had died off a considerable amount, but she could also tell the boys were reaching their limit.

Jack was hit full force by them as they flung him into a nearby building that shoved him through the brick wall. She screamed out his name without realizing her voice was even leaving her lips. She stood up to run to him when a hand grabbed her wrist. She turned around to see a bow and arrow beside her head being fired in the same area that Jack had been sent.

"Lance! How are you here!?" She ask gripping onto his arm to ensure he was real. He smiled softly to her before turning his attention to helping Sandy.

They eradicated the rest of the nightmares in a matter a moments leaving nothing but dissolving black sand. Jack still hadn't reappeared from the attack he received and the fear that filled Lyra's body continued to grow. She could feel a panic attack beginning, her breathing becoming labored and her vision changing colors. She fell to her knees and tried to crawl to where Jack was. She needed him. He needed to be okay! He could fix this! Make the fear she felt go away.

She needed him!

She felt Lance lift her up into his arms and speak something but she wasn't sure what it was. More images started flooding through her mind this time. Jack's death, Lance's head on a spear, Sandy looking at her with lifeless eyes. Explosions of places she loved, people she loved dearly trapped inside as the building collapsed and burnt to a crisp, their screams the only thing she could hear.

The horrible damn laughter of that skeleton!

She was hyperventilating. When Lance carried her to where Jack's body was lying on the ground, unresponsive, she started screaming. Flailing around and desperately trying to get to him. Lance ended up dropping her from the sudden reaction and she crawled her way over to him before reaching up and gripping onto his hoodie with her hands trembling so bad she couldn't figure out if she had two hands or four. Maybe there were six.

She couldn't breath, damn it! She started shaking Jack viciously as she desperately gasped for air. He wasn't moving which only served to fuel her attack. It was when she saw the blood on his forehead that her vision finally blacked out and she was plunged into an endless nightmare.

* * *

Drowning. It felt like she was drowning, but that wasn't the complete way to describe it. She just couldn't breath. Suffocation maybe? No that still seemed wrong.

Unbearable. The darkness around her was unbearable. The screams and the sadistic laughter unnerved her and she just wanted it to stop. She couldn't remember anything. Who was she? Where was she? Someone needed to help! Or was she supposed to help someone?

Pain. All she could feel was this indescribable pain shooting through her body. Worse than that was the pain in her head. Pain so strong she could throw up and be glad to relinquish the contents of her stomach. Why was there so much pain?

Fear. It was consuming her. Swallowing her like she was a fish stick at a seafood restaurant. She tried and tried to build up the courage she knew she had. She could face this. She was stronger than this!

Yet, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't find that light of hope in the darkness that swallowed her soul.

* * *

"So yer saying she choked on a cupcake then?" Bunny tried earning a very agitated Sandy to begin hitting his head on something nearby. Why wasn't Lyra awake when you needed a translator!?

"I think I've got it!" Tooth called out excitedly. "Jack and you went to fight, and Lyra followed behind you!" Sandy nodded willing her to keep going. "But then she tripped over thin air and twisted her ankle!"

Sandy felt like dying. Ignorance. His comrades were pure ignorant!

"Settle down guys." Lance supplied after a moment of watching them struggle. He was standing against the wall watching Carol patch up Jack as he lay unconscious. He prayed the boy would wake up soon. He could tell he would probably be the only one who could reach Lyra in her nightmare.

"These nightmares are enhanced. New and improved. Whatever they have is causing those kids comas. I'm just praying that Lyra isn't another victim. She's already in a pretty bad state." He could hear her crying out in the room across the hall, North dealing with her being as he had the most strength and could keep the girl from hurting herself from falling out of the bed. Or worse, as she attempted to do in a sleep walking state just moments ago with a pair of scissors.

"My question is how did you know they were in trouble, mate?" Bunny turned his attention to the blonde man watching over the winter spirit. He scowled softly before he closed his eyes.

"I heard Aria calling for help. Only after I started flying did I realize it wasn't Aria's voice. It was Aria's power, but it was Lyra's voice screaming for help. Don't ask me how, I haven't a clue how it happened." He sighed in defeat not wanting to be confused any longer.

"Perhaps we can still get Lyra to wake up. She was awake when the nightmare affected. Maybe she has a greater chance of waking because she wasn't technically asleep when the nightmare attacked her?" Tooth supplied weakly trying to bring some hope to the situation.

"We can only hope. I can almost assure you he's not going to be too pleased when he wakes up." Lance smiled sadly to Tooth.

"Who's not going to be happy?" A horse voice came from the bed as Jack sat up and groaned from the stiffness of his muscles. A sigh of relief passed through the room causing Jack to raise an eyebrow at them. "Were you that worried about me? Aw, I'm honored." He softly laughed before a high pitch screamed made his blood run cold and his eyes widen.

"Lyra!" He screamed out and was out of the room before anyone had a chance to stop him. He kicked in the door he heard the scream from. North looked disheveled and tired, but the thing that disturbed him the most was the way that Lyra's small body was tossing and thrashing around in the bed.

"What happened?!" He cried out as he ran to her side and took her face into his hands. She whimpered from the cool touch but seemed to physically calm down the moment his hands met her cheeks.

"She touched one of the nightmares. She started freaking out and before I knew it she passed out and was screaming out like this. I assume she's fallen to the coma that everyone else has, but I was hoping maybe we'd get lucky." Jack's eyes turned dark as he looked at Lance.

"We have to wake her up! I can't…She can't.." He felt his throat tighten up as he tried to form the words. "I can't have her gone too." He whimpered out as he laid his forehead against her and closed his eyes. His heart felt tight; his stomach full of knots. He couldn't do this if she was gone. She was the only thing keeping him sane from losing Jamie!

"Jack if anyone can wake her up it has to be you." Lance said, watching as the red string attached to his pinky begun intertwining with the one placed on hers. There were still gaps in the string, areas that would need to be patched and mended before they could ever call their string official, but it was drawing to each other. Calling to each other.

Lyra was calling out for him.

"How then…" Jack sounded broken as he spoke. He opened his eyes and looked at her face taking in how beautiful and soft her skin was. He rubbed his thumb back and forth on her cheek as he close his eyes one more time and concentrated. He had to reach her. He had to find her!

"Lyra. Please." He softly said as he felt himself being pulled somewhere. On the nightstand, a small jar pulsed in power as Jack's mind blanked out and he fell to the ground unconscious.

"Jack!" Tooth cried out before Lance stopped her from retrieving him. His eyes were glued to the jar on the nightstand before he smiled lovingly.

"Even in death you're still fighting to help people, eh Aria?"

* * *

"Someone please. I'm scared. Please make it stop. No more. I can't take anymore!" Lyra was curled into a ball, her hands gripping her head in pain as she practically begged for the pain and darkness to go away.

The sickening laughter from before started up again, surrounding her, consuming her. She cried out trying to cover the sound with her screams. If she couldn't hear it then it couldn't hurt her!

A strange light started hitting her eye lids. She was terrified at first but finally allowed her eyes to open slowly to see a blue light off in the distance. It felt warm, felt safe. She wanted that light. It felt like it was making the pain stop, she needed the pain to stop. She pushed herself up onto shaking legs before slowly moving towards the light.

"I know…I shouldn't move towards the light… but I think death might be better than this hell." She whispered half on the verge of insanity. She took slowly, sloppy steps that made her feel like she was drunk. She never really liked being drunk. It always made her feel so bad the next day, and let's not even get into all the stupid stuff you do while under the influence.

She grew closer to the light, it getting brighter with each step, before she finally closed her eyes and let herself fall into it's embrace. Strong, cold arms wrapped around her and pulled her tightly and she couldn't help but cry in relief.

"Shh my love, you're safe." She heard a familiar voice whisper and she couldn't help but wonder who it belonged too. She wrapped arms around the figure and clung to it before crying out hysterically. "It's ok Lyra, I've got you. I won't let it hurt you anymore."

"I don't want to be here anymore!" She hiccupped into the chest of the figure before she felt a soft chuckle vibrate though them.

"Then let's go home. I want to go home, too." She pulled back to look up and meet ice blue eyes. She reattached to him and cried harder.

"Jack please take me home!" He said something else to her, but she didn't hear it as the warmth of the light surrounded her body and put her into a dreamless sleep state.

* * *

Jack sat up with a sharp gasp of air before he started coughing like he was choking on something. He started breathing heavily once he was done choking and tried to calm his breathing as his head whipped up to look at Lyra on the bed.

She was laying there sleeping peacefully. A deep sigh left the teen's lips and he leaned back against the bed in relief.

"What the hell just happened?" He closed his eyes to try and make sense of everything only to hear laughter from Lance across the room. Lance started clapping his hands before walking over and happily shaking his friend.

"You did it Jack!" He laughed happily causing Jack to look at him oddly. "You proved your worth to Aria and she helped you!"

"Really? That was Aria?" He looked over at the still jar with the spinning orb inside of it. "I don't think it's I've proved my worth to her. The feeling I got when she did that was more or less she's just extremely protective of Lyra now." Jack smiled softly to the jar before nodding at it. "Regardless, I thank you Aria. You're always helping me without my realizing it, aren't you?"

"Let's let Lyra rest." Carol spoke up at this point before being interrupted by soft mumbling.

"Stupid…elf…cookies…mine…" Lyra mumbled out before turning onto her side. Everyone in the room chuckled before agreeing with Carol.

"To the globe room. We need to discuss this." Bunny spoke before turning to leave the room. Jack stared at the floor he was currently sitting on.

"I'm going to stay in here."

"But Jack! You are needed to-"

"North honey, let him be. He's had a hard day." Carol placed a hand on her husbands arm before leading him out of the room to prevent him from complaining more. The others nodded at Jack before following after Carol and North.

The door shut silently and Jack waited until the footsteps and talking died down before he got up off the floor. He crawled into the bed beside Lyra and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him, and kissing her forehead.

"I've decided Lyra. I can't tell you this when you're awake, but I just want you to know I can't do this if you leave. Please, don't leave me." He whispered softly and closed his eyes enjoying the short moment he could hold the girl who so gently held his heart.

Is this what it felt like to fall in love? He couldn't tell whether he really enjoyed it or not. He loved the jittery, nervous feelings she gave him even if it meant he had to avoid her. He loved watching her, teasing her, laughing with her.

However, seeing her in as much pain as he just had. _Feeling_ the pain and fear she felt just now. He couldn't tell if he couldn't stand how protective of her he had become or if he wanted to destroy everything that ever caused her to feel such a way.

Either way, Jack knew one thing. Pitch had it coming to him. He would sure as hell would make sure Pitch knew to stay in the hole he belonged in.

He'd say the whole speech of 'It will be or I will die trying.', but Jack knew. He would not die trying.

Because he was going to make that bastard and his little friend pay for _ever_ messing with his family.

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**Author's Note: So to make up for the slow last chapter here is a sped up chapter! ;D I made jack call her love*beams happily*I enjoyed typing that, especially since she was so lost in the fear and hysterics she doesn't even know he did it.*dramatic sigh* This chapter got pretty intense I can't believe how much I really loved typing it up for you guys. Thanks again for reaching a hundred views! I hope you'll stick with me to the end of this! 3**


	16. Chapter 16: Awkward

**Disclaimer: I do not own RoTG.**

****IMPORTANT**: there is a fluffy make out scene in this chapter. Some people do not enjoy reading those things. I have marked it with line breaks and ** to signal it's beginning and end. This is a T rated story and personally you see worse things in PG-13 movies. Trust me, I work at a theater. Regardless, you have been warned.**

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Jack groaned softly at the weird clicking noise that kept assaulting his ears as he was trying to sleep. He wrapped his arms around the warmth that he was currently holding, burying his face into the warmth, and allowing his half conscious mind to start drifting completely back to dreamland before some snickering and more clicking noises started echoing around the quiet room. He sighed heavily before pulling away from the wonderful warmth to open his eyes and see what the hell was disturbing his sleep. He blinked a couple of times as Lance and Bunny's silhouettes appeared hovering over his; a camera that looked an awful lot like Lyra's recent Christmas gift in their hands.

"What the hell are you guys doin'?" Jack sleepily grumbled at them before noticing their devious smirks. He stared at them blankly for a long moment before another click came from the camera followed by a bright flash. Jack winced and balled his hand up to punch them both in the face. He heard a small moan beside him causing him to tense up and realize exactly why the two idiots above him were taking pictures. He slowly turned his head, eyes wide in shock, to see Lyra currently wrapped in his arms and sleeping happily.

He had fallen asleep with her!

He slowly started removing his arms from around her, ignoring the strong desire he had to just flip the boys off and go back to sleep, before slowly lifting himself off the bed. He slowly turned to face them before a sadistic grin crossed his thin, pale lips.

"I'm going to kill you both. I recommend you taking this two-second head start I'm allowing you to run to get out of this room before you wake her up. Go." Lance and Bunny were out the door quickly, but their main concern wasn't that they couldn't take the ice spirit on. They were just worried their precious camera with their precious black-mail would be destroyed. It wouldn't do them any good if such a thing were to happen.

Jack softly closed the door behind him before he started half-running, half-gliding after the two for the camera. Just what he needed! Lyra to see those pictures and seriously consider him a pervert and stalker for crawling into the bed beside her without her permission. He couldn't let them keep those pictures!

Lance and Bunny had been smart when they decided to split up. The yeti's were still up working on toys for next year, and the elves were all asleep in various areas of the floor. It made it hard for him to listen for their movements. Overall, it was just a full on game of hide-n-go seek.

Good thing he was used to playing this with kids.

"Game on." He smirked evilly before taking off to find the camera.

* * *

An hour of running and chasing had commenced before Jack had finally caught both of them. Sadly, even after freezing them both to the floor and demanding answers for twenty minutes he couldn't get them to spill the location of the now hidden camera. He made an ever-lasting threat that if they so much as showed Lyra those pictures he would make their holidays living hells for the rest of their lives before unfreezing them and stalking off irritated.

Man, he was still tired. What was it? Two in the morning? He was going back to bed.

He stopped when he realized he had walked back to the room Lyra was currently in. He scowled deeply and turned himself away, taking one more glance at the wooden door that lead to the warmth that had him sleeping so soundly, before groaning softly and forcing his bare feet to lead him to his own bedroom.

He crawled into his own bed, flipping a thin sheet over his body. It wasn't that he got cold but more the fact that it felt wrong to sleep without a blanket. However, even without being physically cold he realized this bed was cold.

He really shouldn't have fallen asleep beside her.

'_This is going to be a long night.'_ He sighed before closing his eyes and trying to will his body back to sleep.

* * *

****S****

Jack opened his eyes to see green eyes looking at him. He smiled softly to the woman in front of him before slowly reaching out and caressing her cheek softly. Lyra shivered slightly causing him to pull his hand back for fear he was too cold. She looked slightly disappointed before sliding closer to him in the bed and wrapping her arms around his waist. Jack blinked in surprise before smiling softly and resting his forehead against hers.

'_When did we get in bed together?_' His mind briefly wondered before he felt warm, soft lips lightly pressing against his own. His eyes widen in shock and Lyra pulled back to softly smile to him. He swallowed nervously not sure how to react before Lyra's soft laugh reached his ears. She removed a hand from around his waist and reached up to run her index finger softly down his jaw line before pulling him into another soft kiss.

Jack felt a surge shoot through his body and a flutter in his chest that had him reacting to her touch before he even realized he was doing it. He returned the kiss with a little more force than she was using; wrapping his arms around her and pulling her body completely against his. She ran her hands down the front of his chest with feather like touches bringing to his attention the fact he wasn't wearing a shirt. Her fingers against his body felt so good. The designs she was tracing before following the lines of his abs to only circle around and redo it again. It was like she knew exactly what she was doing and he wasn't going to complain about it. He felt hot; a feeling that was extremely unfamiliar for him. It wasn't a bad hot, no, it was a hot that had him desiring more.

He bravely allowed his tongue to trace along her bottom lip seeking entrance. This was how they did it in those movies he had seen some teens watching, right? He was so nervous he was doing it wrong but yet he couldn't seem to stop himself from trying. He wanted more of her warmth, he wanted to taste her, he wanted to quench this strong desire in his body.

He desired her more than anything.

She opened her mouth and the moment their tongues met he felt that warm feeling shoot through his body again causing the temperature to once again rise. He moaned into the kiss before deepening it as much as he could. Trying to taste and feel as much of her as he could. She shuddered against his body and reached her arms around his torso before running her fingers into his hair. She slowly trailed her nails down the back of his neck and down his back causing him to shiver in pleasure. Jack loved the way they fit together, the way she fit against him. He trailed his fingers down her shoulders and arms softly before allowing his fingers to go back up and flow their way towards her collar bone. He felt her wiggle away from him before breaking the passionate kiss they had been sharing. He took in a deep breath before watching her curiously to see why she had broken something that was so amazing.

Only to swallow loudly as she pulled her shirt off and crawled back over to him.

"L-Lyra…" He stuttered out in a whisper causing her to place a finger over his lips. She smiled before her lips met his again. He moaned loudly as her warm skin met his,. He couldn't stop his hands from seeking out the warmth that was Lyra. He trailed his hands along her stomach; smirking slightly when she giggled from his touch. He flipped them so he was on top of her before lowering his mouth down to hers against and kissing her roughly. A small noise left the back of her throat letting Jack know he wasn't messing up, and causing him to feel much more comfortable with the current situation.

He felt Lyra's fingers trailed down his stomach again, causing him to shiver, before they suddenly snuck underneath the waist band of his pants.

****E****

* * *

He gasped in shock from how quickly she was moving.

He opened his eyes to make sure that she was sure about how quickly she was moving things…only to see a wall across from him. His body still felt extremely hot and he felt extremely uncomfortable, but upon inspecting his surroundings he realized that he was alone. In his hoodie. In his bed. No Lyra.

"What the hell kind of dream was that!?" He blushed deeply before curling up in a ball and basked in the absolute embarrassment of what he had just willingly allowed to happen in a dream of his. Man, his lower abdomen felt uncomfortable.

"Puberty! You have to be freaking kidding me! She jinxed me! I've never had a dream like that before!"

"Jack!" He fell out of the bed as he heard Carol's voice followed by a loud knock from the woman.

"I-I'm up!" He squeaked out in a very high pitched voice. "I'll be there soon, just, um, just…Yeah! I'll be there soon I swear!"

"Well, okay then honey. It's nearly noon and the others are waiting for you in the globe room. When you're ready to eat there's breakfast in the kitchen." Jack suddenly understood how it felt when teenagers wanted their mother to leave them alone but their mother just kept talking!

"Okay! Got it!" He heard her feet softly patter down the hall. His face was beet red, his stomach tight, other areas uncomfortable, and it was taking everything in him not to crawl into a hole and die right then and there.

Lyra was going to be the death of him!

* * *

Jack finally-_finally-_appeared in the globe room to see that everyone was in fact waiting on him. He sighed heavily and scratched the back of his neck nervously before giving them his famous crooked grin.

"Aw, look at this. Waiting for the life of the party to arrive before getting started?"

"Took you long enough, Romeo." Lance smirked at the winter spirit earning him a deep, dark glare.

"Look, I had a hard time waking up this morning-" Jack was cut off as he looked at the knowing look the Sandman currently had on his chubby face. Sandy smirked deviously before holding up a finger and tsking him. He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at the boy causing Jack to blush more than he had in his entire life.

Sandy _knew_! He _knew_ what Jack had dreamt about.

Jack was ready to find that hole right about now.

"Sandy listen! I can explain! I swear I didn't want that to happen, it just…came out of absolutely no where! I freaking swear!" The boy was tugging on his hair and nearly yelling in exasperation before pacing side to side. Everyone else in the room looked at Jack like he was losing his mind.

"Sandy, what did Jack do to you?" North asked completely curious about what the whole blow up was about. Sandy chuckled, a small chime coming from the man, before shrugging and whistling like he was innocent. A music note appeared above his head to replace his non-existent whistling.

"Enough with the shenanigans. What happened yesterday? We tried talking to Sandy, but I got lost after the second picture." Bunny nibbled on a carrot as he stared at the still distraught teenager. Sandy huffed in absolute annoyance at the rabbit's statement.

"Oh, yesterday…Yeah Yesterday!" Jack sighed in relief of the distraction before hopping up onto a nearby table and resting his bum against it. He laid his staff across this lap and proceeded to stare up at the globe. "Pitch was there. He said he figured it would be only a matter of time before I realized what had happened to Jamie. The nightmare we followed was the trigger for an ambush he had set up for me. He's apparently testing out his new powers and nightmares. They're stronger. Causing the comas the children are falling in. I'm wondering if Pitch got the strength from the comatose children, or if maybe Leon is giving him this new ability."

"That's possible. I've fought my brother many times but even I do not know the extent of his powers. I wouldn't be surprised if he was giving Pitch the ability. The only thing that bothers me about that is the fact my brother is extremely stubborn. He's never worked with anyone before. Even when he and I were still on good terms he refused to work on anything with me. Either he really likes Pitch, or he's actually controlling the Nightmare King without Pitch knowing it." Lance sighed heavily before crossing his arms across his chest. "If he is manipulating him, it just makes me wonder what my brother's ultimate goal truly is."

"Luckily, we didn't run into Leon this time around. Pitch himself didn't even stay very long. Just gave one of his boring speeches about how he would defeat us and what not. I stopped listening half-way through it." Jack smiled happily at the explanation.

"Oh Jack! What if he had said something useful while you were ignoring him." Tooth scolded him before turning to one of her mini fairies to inform them of a new tooth they needed to retrieve. Jack just shrugged before yawning loudly.

"Overall, the main thing I got from the whole ordeal is that Leon and Pitch are still too weak. I tried to engage him in combat and he high tailed it out of there. That's probably why it's so hard to find them both. They're still too weak to come out and fight us head on."

"So, new nightmares! They are special, yes?" North asked as he turned away from facing the globe to look at Jack. Jack nodded before sighing.

"They took on some pretty creepy forms. They're changing shapes and sizes and their attacks are much stronger. They're getting quicker, too. I barely had time to protect Sandy from a pretty big attack. Oh, let's add onto the fact they're morphing together and attacking now! Freaking nightmares…" Jack grumbled in irritation remembering how it had hurt hitting that building.

He really needed to stop crash landing in random buildings.

"Here's another question I'm curious about." Bunny finished up the carrot he was munching on before finishing his statement. "If Lyra was to be a victim of the nightmares coma abilities, how did the show pony wake 'er up?"

"I might be able to answer that." Carol suddenly entered the room with a soft smile on her face. She walked over to stand beside her husband before clearing her throat. "Lyra was awake at the time of the infection from the nightmare. That obviously caused her to have a completely different effect than what the children are experiencing. After doing some research, I'd say her nightmares actually began while she was still awake. That means the sand was affecting her, but I think what happened is the clothes she's wearing protected her from having it completely consume her body. When she passed out it was because her body became overwhelmed by too much too quickly. The clothes I made her protect her from magic attacks, not physical attacks."

"That's nice and all, but that still doesn't explain why _he_ woke her up."

"Aria helped him obviously. I'm suspecting he has another connection with Lyra as well, but I'm not going to elaborate on that detail until I have further evidence." Lance chimed in as he glanced down to see the small red string leading away from Jack's body. Jack looked at him oddly and Lance just smiled softly before continuing. "Aria is still somewhat conscious I think. She must have sensed Lyra needed help and at that time Jack just happened to be the one closest to her."

"Yeah, when I first entered into whatever that place was I could feel Aria near me. It was so weird, honestly. I could feel she was extremely protective of Lyra. She actually seemed angry that something like that had happened." Jack thoughtfully added as he tried to remember what had happened when he entered into Lyra's mind.

"Aria protected me against the nightmare when it was about to physically attack me too." Everyone turned their heads to see a tired looking Lyra standing at the entrance of the globe room. Jack froze up at the sight of her; his dream suddenly exploding in him mind making him start to blush all over again. Lance made his way over to her to help her find a seat to rest on. She smiled softly to the blonde man before closing her eyes and sitting in a nearby chair. "The nightmare was about to swing at me when this strong pulse came from her and this sudden wind blew the creature away from both of us."

"It's strange Aria is still in control of doing such things when she's supposed to be completely sealed up at this point." Lance scowled in confusion before looking to Carol. "Carol, you're educated in the arts of charms and spells. Could you maybe look into what exactly Aria used to place her powers in such a state?" Carol nodded in understanding.

"I'll do my best. I'll start contacting some other people I know who also play in such magic. Sealing charms are hard to come by so it might take me some time."

"Lyra, are you feeling all right?' Jack finally managed to get his heart to stop beating wildly in his chest. He stood up off the table and walked over to her before crouching down in front of her to get a better look at her. She looked pale and tired. Almost exactly how she had looked when she was running that fever. She smiled slightly before softly nodding.

"Just a bad headache today is all. Carol gave me something for it so I'm hoping it will go away soon. Probably just some adverse reactions from the nightmare is all." She waved it off but Jack still frowned.

"Maybe you should go rest some more?' Her eyes flicked with fear before she quickly tried to cover it up. Jack narrowed his eyes having not missed the look. "I won't let him near you Lyra." He spoke lowly causing her to look at him. He gritted his teeth before looking down at the floor. "Lyra, don't be afraid to go to sleep, because I won't let him near you again. Even if it means I myself go without sleep."

Lyra smiled before reaching out and ruffling his hair like he had done to her many times.

"Jack I'll be okay. Just focus on finding those two. I'm a big girl, I can fight my own battles. My parents raised me right. I won't rely on others to do things for me." She looked around at the others before crossing her arms across her chest. "I'm going to split up from you guys for a while I think." Everyone in the room began protesting before she held her hand up. "Look, we're not able to play around with this anymore. If what I understand about Pitch is correct, he technically has no idea about me. All the nightmares I have ever seen or come in contact with have all been destroyed. That means they haven't been able to tell their master about me, right? It's the only reasonable idea. You guys need to find them as soon as possible. I have another task I need to complete and that's find Aria's host. I'll just slow you down and I can't have that happen." Lyra closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around herself. "I can't let these kids continue to experience that hell I was in. We have to get them out. We _have_ to!"

"Then let at least one of us stay with you Lyra. It does no good if we allow something to happen to you too." Lance spoke lightly placing his hand on top of her head in a loving manner.

"I'm not leaving you alone." Jack looked into her eyes with determination. He was not leaving her and that was final.

"If I disappear one night you'll have a hell of a hard time finding me." Lyra argued back, determination also evident in her expression.

"Then you'll just slow everyone down more because I'll take the time to look for you instead." Lyra scowled at the winter spirit in irritation.

"We shall not split up just yet. Lyra does have point. We will decide on the next course of action once she had recuperated completely." North said leaving no room for argument from the two teens in the room.

"_**Why hello my dear brother." **_Lance and Lyra gasped in shock as a low voice entered both of their minds.

"Lyra?" Jack asked suddenly worried about her odd reaction.

"Leon." Lance hissed out and narrowed his eyes. Everyone's focus turned to Cupid standing with this hand on top of Lyra's head.

"_**Why yes! How did you know!?" **_A deep laughter came from the voice causing Lance to grit his teeth in anger. _**"I just came to give you a wonderful message my dear brother! Soon, everything you and your friends hold dear will be gone. I will make sure to crush each and everyone of you until there is nothing left. So, on that note my dear brother. **_

_**Catch me if you can." **_Lance scowled as the connection between him and his brother suddenly disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. Lyra blinked before looking up at Lance.

"I do hope the fact your hand was on my head is the reason I just had some strange conversation occur in my head." Lance jerked his hand off the girl before apologizing.

"Sorry, I must have let my telepathic connection leak into you with the contact. I have a hard time controlling my end of it." He chuckled nervously before feeling multiple pairs of eyes staring him down.

"Leon said: Let the games begin."

"You know, for a bad guy he's got the whole thing going for him." Lyra spoke up before anyone had a chance to respond to Lance's announcement. Jack raised at eyebrow at her before smirking and tilting his head.

"Do I want to know why you just said that?" He chuckled before awaiting her reasoning.

"Well, not only is he absolutely gorgeous, but he has a really sexy voice." Jack's jaw fell slightly as everyone else just stared at her. "What?! Deep, dark, and mysterious? With the sexy voice and physical features? He's like every girl's dream bad boy!"

Jack felt a strong desire to kill the man while Lance just busted out laughing at her completely random outburst. Carol and Tooth started agreeing with her about sexy bad boys being every girls dream causing Bunny too wonder if they were all a bunch of lunatics and North to smile happily.

"You know, my favorite Russian was a bit of a bad boy back in his days." Carol winked causing the other two women to laugh and all the men to look oddly at North. He just laugh and crossed his arms.

"Seriously? This guy?" Jack looked at Carol skeptically before Carol smirked at him.

"Why yes. I can't even elaborate the things he has done. I'll just say this. Those tattoo's on his arms aren't the only things he has." North laughed with Carol and at this point Lyra and Tooth were looking at each other with concerned expressions.

"I guess you weren't kidding when you told me that red string of fate truly led you to your match." Lyra joked up to Lance causing him to lower his head with a sigh.

"I said love was a beautiful thing. I never said the owners of said love were the purest things ever."

"I am so confused." Jack scratched his head watching Carol and North still laughing. Lyra wrapped her arms around Jack's neck from behind before allowing her body to fall out of the chair and onto his back like she was getting a piggy back ride. He yelped in surprise before turning his head to look at her grinning at North and Carol.

"Just stay confused. It's safer that way." She grinned at him causing him to blush. He huffed in annoyance before turning his attention back to everyone.

"So, breakfast and then we'll split up to look?" He pushed himself up into a standing position earning a squeak from Lyra as he pulled her up with him. He grabbed her legs and held her on his back before turning to the edge of the room and looking down at the workshop.

"Meet you guys in the kitchen!" Lyra's eyes widen as she realized what the idiot was about to do. She gripped her arms around his neck tightly was about to protest before he just walked off the edge and dropped them down several floors. He started softly gliding down with both of them before gracefully landing on his feet with a smirk.

Meanwhile, up in the globe room everyone smirked knowingly at each other.

"Too bad we've already eaten. Let' them have a moment I suppose." Lance chuckled before letting his mind drift back to the conversation with Leon.

"I'm going to make Lyra some gloves to see if that will protect her better from the nightmares. After that I'll get to researching the sealing spells. If you need me, you know where I'll be." With that the thin woman disappeared from the room. An evil aura passed around the room as Bunny pulled out Lyra's camera.

"Anyone up to seein' some pictures?"

* * *

**Author's Note: There ya go! A little explaining on some things. I had this idea a little while ago of Jack haveing an awkward dream and Sandy just giving him a scolding look. It was amusing in my head, don't judge me. I might introduce a new OC soonish. I'm still debating if I will or not. I have the character made, and one of the reasons I would introduce them is because I feel bad for Lance. Let me know what you think? Should I be kind to dear Lance?**


	17. Chapter 17: Lullaby of the Almost Kiss

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians. **

**This is a short chapter. Sorry about that! I swear the next one is going to make up for the shortness, and I should have it out pretty soon! **

* * *

Lyra sighed in defeated after struggling to get Jack to let her down to walk on her own for a moment or two. He was determined to carry her all the way to the kitchen. She rested her chin against his shoulder, leaning her head against his in the process, before softly humming a tune that had been on her mind lately. Jack shifted her up higher on his back.

"That's a nice tune. What song is that?" He quietly asked causing her to stop humming and to smile to herself.

"A song I've been planning on singing to you." She gave him a cheesy grin that he caught in his peripheral vision. He hummed in acknowledgement before walking into the kitchen and dropping her softly on top of the kitchen table.

"Does that mean I get to actually hear it? Or are you just going to tease me with the tune? You forget, I have been waiting since we met to hear this song." Jack crossed his arms across his chest and leaned against the kitchen counter before giving her a scolding look. She just gave a nonchalant shrug before lifting up the cover of a plate of pancakes Carol had prepared for them. Jack stared at the pancakes warily before looking in the cabinets for something else to eat for breakfast.

"Jack, what are you doing?"

"I am not getting attacked by vicious hot sauce again." Lyra busted out laughing, grabbing her stomach as a sharp pain appeared from her laughing so hard, before finally taking in a sharp breath and trying to not laugh again.

"Jack, I swear to you on everything that I am that I did not sabotage these pancakes!" Jack looked at her with narrowed eyes for a moment before walking over and taking a plate for himself.

"If there is so much as one drop in these-"

"Jack, that's too obvious! If I was going to get you with the same trick it would be in a different cover. You expect this!" Jack nodded after a moment and sat down at the kitchen table.

"Glad to see you learned your trickster ways from the master." Lyra snorted before seating herself across the table from him.

"Trust me, honey, you learned it from me."

"Let me guess, 'because you're sexy and you know it'? Jack made quotation marks in the air around the last part of the sentence before rolling his eyes playfully.

"Aww, how sweet! You think I'm sexy? I mean I know I'm sexy but for you to outright admit it!" Jack groaned as a small blush dyed his cheeks again.

"You damn woman. I have had enough trouble from you to last me a life time!" Lyra lowered her head in guilt as she remembered the trouble she had caused by following him and not listening to him.

"Jack, I'm sorry I came after you-" Jack's eyes widened in shock as he realized what she was thinking.

"No no! That's not what I meant! I meant the trouble you gave me while I was sleeping last night!" Lyra blankly stared at him before she looked absolutely confused.

"What did I do to you in your sleep, exactly?" Jack resisted the urge to slam his head down on the table for indirectly bringing up his dream.

"J-Just don't worry about it." He muttered before shoving some pancake into his mouth.

They ate in silence for a while. Jack trying to hide his embarrassment behind a mouth full of pancakes and Lyra trying desperately to understand what he was talking about. Jack finally finished his breakfast, and to avoid any more awkward silence, quickly stood up to clean his plate in the sink. He was drying the dish to put away in a cabinet when he felt small arms wrap around his torso from behind. His breath hitched in his throat and his body tensed up greatly. He felt Lyra bury her face into his back causing him to gulp rather loudly.

"L-Lyra?" He whispered though he was pretty sure he had told his voice to be louder than that. He felt her pull away enough for him to spin in her embrace.

Lyra smiled up at him before fully wrapping her arms around him again and burying her face into his chest this time. After a moment she felt his strong arms wrap around her. The same arms that had wrapped around her and pulled her out of that nightmare.

The warm light in the cold darkness.

"Jack. Thank you so much." She felt tears forming in her eyes and she moved her face in his hoodie so that he wouldn't see her cry. She gripped onto him like her life depended on it.

"Lyra, what are you talking about?" He rubbed his hands up and down her back in a soothing manner.

"You came for me. You got me out of that place. You-" Her voiced choked up as a sob escaped her. Jack felt her body start trembling and out of instinct he pulled her closer. He rested his head a-top of hers and shushed her softly.

"I'll always come for you Lyra. No matter where you are. I will always find you." He softly spoke as he pulled back and lifted her chin to look at her face. He used his thumb to carefully wipe the tears from her eyes before leaning his head down against her forehead and smiling. "I'll never give up on finding you."

"You're my light Jack. I feel so brave when I'm with you. Like I can do anything. I promise to never leave you if you never leave me. I will always be here for you to return to." Had she heard him last night when he asked her not to leave? Jack tensed in fear for a brief moment before the weight of the words she had just spoken fully hit him.

"Oh Lyra…" He whispered softly, cupping her cheek in his hand and allowing the strong feelings pulsing from his chest to take over him. He cared so much about her, wanted to be with her more than anyone he had ever met, and yet he was still so scared and nervous to act on such emotions. He started leaning in without realizing he was moving.

Just a breath away from kissing her a loud bang sounded right outside the kitchen door. Both Lyra and Jack jerked in surprise before spinning around to see a bunch of elves fighting over a tray of cookies. Jack slowly pulled away from Lyra and a sadistic grin crossed his pale lips.

"Excuse me Lyra. I have to go kill some annoying elves." Lyra couldn't fight the blush that was staining her cheeks as she watched Jack freeze the elves and use them as footballs.

Was it just her, or has Jack almost just kissed her?

Meanwhile, Jack's only thought was: '_So close!'_

* * *

Several weeks had passed since Lyra and Jack's almost kiss in the kitchen. Jack had barely seen the girl much which was automatically making him a little grumpy on a daily basis. He and the other Guardians had decided to post-pone Aria's host searching temporarily, and were instead looking for the current hide out of Leon and Pitch. This proved to be annoying for Jack seeing as he still couldn't fly, but thankfully North had made a mass production of snow globe warps so he was traveling with some dignity.

He had checked the path that lead to Pitch's old hide out only to find out it was more of a dead end than he had hoped. Seemed like Pitch had moved out of the place they had previously trapped him in. While it was frustrating it was still reasonable. Jack wouldn't want to live there either.

Lyra had agreed to not wander off on her own just yet and was instead helping Carol look into the different magic that surrounded sealing spells. Carol had opened her library for Lyra to use while Carol herself was gone. Carol had left a day or so after making gloves for Lyra to visit a contact that was more aquatinted with spells and charms than she was. She was going to be gone for a while so Lyra offered to do what she could from the North Pole's end.

It was the hope of everyone that by understanding the seal that Aria had used that they might be able to better find where Aria's new host was. They had been searching all over for so long, but the world was a big place and there was no physical way to find the person with the current time constraint they were placed in. That and Jack wasn't going to allow Lyra to keep searching how she had been alone.

Lance had disappeared about a day or so ago to work on Valentine's day preparations. It was coming up really soon and the man had tried to prevent leaving the search for as long as possible. Jack was honestly so surprised how laid back about his holiday he was in comparison with North and Bunny. He gave the man props for that aspect.

In the end, however, none of them had found any leads. The most he had been able to do was fend off nightmares that he found and prevent a few comas here and there. Thankfully, since their knowledge of the situation the number of comatose children wasn't increasing at a dramatic rate. They seemed to find a way to fight back, but the whole ordeal was become exhausting and Jack was personally ready to just knock Pitch's head off.

It was early morning when Jack finally decided to head back home. He had waited for the sun to rise to ensure nightmare attacks would be down before he would head home to rest. Jumping through a portal, he sighed heavily as he looked around the familiar workshop.

"Life was much easier when all I had to worry about was breaking into this place." He grumbling in irritation before yawning loudly.

"Off to bed with you." Jack turned to see Lyra standing behind him smiling. He smiled softly, his anger disappearing at the sight of the girl, before another yawn escaped his lips.

"I'm not tired mom…" He smirked playfully before being lightly pushed by the honey blonde towards his room.

"Then I'll sing you a lullaby." Jack laughed before opening his door and walking over to fall face first on his bed.

"I'd rather spend time with you." He rolled over to get a better look at her before once again yawning. She smiled and walked over to sit on the bed beside him. She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair in a soothing manner.

"How about I sing and you go to sleep, and we'll spend time together when you wake up?" He shrugged before grabbing a pillow and eagerly awaiting her 'lullaby'. He noticed her fidgeting with the locket he had gotten her for Christmas and felt a sense of pride swell up in his chest. She hadn't taken it off once since she received it, and often when he walked by her room in the early morning hours he could hear it softly playing the music. She apparently had been falling asleep to the tune, and he couldn't help but feel like it was her way of having him nearby. It made such strong feelings pool through his body that he couldn't help but to smile at the ceiling.

"I want to pick the song." She glanced at him curiously before smiling.

"Okay, what's the song?"

"The song you said you would sing to me when you figured out the song that match me being in your life." He noticed her tense slightly before a soft laugh escaped her lips.

"Well, I guess it is a bit overdue. Very well then." Jack puffed up his pillow and awaited his 'lullaby'.

"_Tonight there's only you and me, exactly where we should be, now or never, who needs forever, right now's good enough for me._" She softly sang out sending shivers through Jack's body at how lovely her voice was. She licked her lips nervously as she abruptly stopped singing. Jack stared at her for a long moment before reaching over and taking her hand into his.

"You're beautiful, you know that?" Lyra blushed deeply before softly pulling her hand away from his.

"I'll take that as you like the song."

"Worth the wait. I love it…It's perfect. I wish I knew how you did it. Who sings that one?"

"It's a song by Camryn. Now or Never. I heard it on the radio and figured it matched perfectly. After all, right now is better than never. It won't last forever, but there's no other place I'd rather be than here with all of you. You especially." Jack smiled at her and went to reach for her again. She abruptly stood up off the bed thus dodging his reaching hand and tossed the thin blanket at the foot of the bed over him. He groaned at her pulling away but didn't voice it otherwise. She leaned over him and kissed his forehead before walking out of the room. She waved behind him and bid him good night before closing the door behind her.

Inside the room, Jack lightly touched the place where her lips had been against his skin and wished the warmth from her skin would never disappear. Now or Never? He supposed he could see a deeper meaning in that song than she probably did.

After all, she might not be with him forever, but he wouldn't give up the love he felt for her. He'd rather feel this way now than to have never felt it at all.

* * *

Hours passed and Jack found himself being pulled into the globe room by a very frantic Tooth Fairy. He grunted in irritation and plopped down on the floor once he was inside. He was still half asleep and honestly would prefer being completely asleep. He glanced beside him to see Lyra sit down beside him before allowing his head to just plop down on her shoulder with a hard thud.

"I have bones that hurt when you do that idiot!"

" 'm sorry." He muttered out in sleep voice. He let his eyes close shut before North's loud walking brought him back to reality.

"Cupid has sent urgent news! He has heard information. Leon and Pitch are planning an attack in a few days! They will show themselves." Lyra frowned as North read off the piece of paper that apparently had been sent by Lance.

"Did he say what they were coming out for all of the sudden?" She asked curious of what was so special about this sudden appearance.

"He does not know. It was hard for him to get this information it seems. We have few days to prepare! This is our chance to help the children and we cannot fail!"

"Took 'em long enough." Jack rubbed his eyes before yawning loudly. "I've wanted nothing more than to knock some heads together."

"Tell me about it, mate. This is the chance I've been waiting for."

"Where is it taking place?

"Apparently, message says Pitch plans attack to take place where it all started."

"Where it all started?" Lyra blinked at the odd statement. "Began like hundreds of years ago or-"

"Look's like we're going to Burgess." Jack smirked deviously. "Guess he's still got a bone to pick with me."

"He probably wants to rub in our face the fact that the lone believer is also currently a victim." Tooth sadly noted bringing down the atmosphere.

"He can try, but if I'm correct from what North and I figured out. Jamie's light is still on that globe." Lyra smiled as she glanced at the bright lights on the spinning globe in the center of the room.

"If that boy can fight and stay true to his belief in us while in the state he's in, then there's no way I'm letting Pitch win this time. What day?" Jack was standing; the adrenaline and excitement fully waking him up.

"That is where problem is." North softly sighed before turning the piece of paper to show everyone Lance's beautiful penmanship.

"They will come on night of New Moon."

A sudden tense atmosphere filled the room causing Lyra wonder:

Just what happens during the new moon?

* * *

**Author's Note: So, this is just a warning for everyone. The new OC is a go. She will not take away from the main story at all, and actually after trying to figure out some plot holes she's going to probably be really needed. My focus isn't on her however. My focus is always going to be on Lyra and Jack. That being said, the next one to two chapters are going to have a decent size to them. After that point, there will be a brief period where I'm sure both Jack and Lyra will disappear from the story for a chapter or two. Do not panic! This is vital to reach the point I need! It's not Twilight where freaking Edward is gone a whole book XD It's literally going to be a couple chapters at most. This is Jack and Lyra's story! It will always be their story! I just have to do a few annoying things to reach the point of their story I desire. You have been warned ;D Anyway1 Big fight coming up O: I wonder what's going to happen! The bad guys give up their plan soon I hope!**


	18. Chapter 18: Took You Long Enough

**Disclaimer: RoTG is not mine. Oc's are.**

**This is a chapter I'm sure everyone has been waiting on. So with that said, this is my Valentine's Present to you. Lance told me I had to be nice to you guys so I suppose I couldn't go against the Spirit Of Love. Lest me make me fall in love with a tree or something.**

* * *

The day of the fight was upon them before they could firmly grasp the weight of the situation. Though they had begun preparations immediately they were still rather tense and edgy; constantly running around thinking they were forgetting something. Lyra was in her room packing up the few belongings she had come to own in her stay here at the North Pole. She placed them into a soft, blue backpack that she had brought a few of her things from home in. Her jar full of dancing sand, her special made camera, her ultimate teeth cleaning collection, her cookbook, and finally her bunny-ear hat. Her hand went to rest of the locket currently resting against her chest under her shirt and a soft smile crossed her lips. It was by far her favorite gift and she found herself often humming the soft tune Jack had made for her. It was comforting to know that a piece of Jack would always be with her. Even if the day finally came where they would officially have to separate.

Lyra sat on the edge of her bed and looked out her window into evening sky. Tonight everyone would be going their separate ways. She had finally convinced the others that it would be safer for her to stay home during this incident. Jack had been adamant that she stay here with the yeti's for extra protection, but she quickly threw that thought out the window when she brought up how easily Pitch had gotten into the North Pole the previous year. Not only did she figure it would be best for her to go home, but Carol was still at her contacts place and wouldn't be home during this time, and she desperately wanted to go check on the children. She hadn't been to visit the twins since discovering they were victims, and she wanted to warn the other children of what could possibly happen. Maybe if they understood they would have a better fighting chance.

After all, after visiting Jamie in the past week she noticed that he was handling the nightmares much better than other children currently were. She automatically assumed it was because he still held such strong belief in the Guardians. His light was still on that globe, and while it may not be the brightest, it was surely still there.

"Ready to go?" Lyra looked away from the window to see Jack leaning against her doorframe with a distant look in his eyes. She smiled and patted the bed beside her for him to sit. He sighed softly before doing as he was instructed and plopping down beside her.

"There you go again with that look Jack." Lyra softly scolded the winter spirit and gave him a playful glare before she lightly patted his knee. "It's for the best that I go home."

"Yeah, yeah I know. I'm just worried." He muttered softly before laying back on her bed to look up at the ceiling.

"Everyone seems pretty on edge about this fight. You were all so ready before, what's so different about this fight?"

"You heard North mention how tonight is the new moon?" Lyra nodded willing him to continue. She had tried to figure out what the new moon meant several times but everyone had been too busy with preparations to answer her on the matter. "Well, the night of the new moon is the one night Manny has no power. It's the one night a month where the unstoppable Man In Moon is defenseless. That means not only can he not assist us in fighting, but he can't protect us either."

"That's a pretty big deal. Is it really that much of a difference when you're fighting with him?" Jack made a face before softly nodding. He suddenly reached out and took her hand before lifting it up to eye level and beginning to play with her fingers individually. She shuddered from his cool touch, but he didn't seem to notice it as he became entranced by her fingers and his thoughts.

"I guess I never noticed it before I became a Guardian. When I was fighting Pitch I noticed I kept feeling these soft nudges. Small spikes in energy to give me the strength to keep fighting. Even when I knew I couldn't win I had this feeling inside of me telling me to not give up. It wasn't until recently that I realized it was him. He never speaks to us, and damn him for leaving me hanging for so many years, but I can feel him now. I can feel that he has always been there for me." Lyra smiled softly before laying back on the bed beside him in a way that allowed Jack to continue looking at her hand.

"A night of pure darkness. A night where Pitch and Leon are at their strongest, and Man in Moon is at his weakest. The odds aren't looking good." Lyra whispered after a moment before sighing softly and nuzzling her face into the sleeve of his shirt. "I'm almost afraid to let you leave."

Jack smiled softly, bringing her fingers to his lips and kissing the tips of them softly before releasing her hand and rolling onto his side to face her.

"Oh we'll be all right. We're much to stubborn to let them win something like this." They stared into each others eyes for a long moment before Jack felt that surge of confidence fill his body again. He slowly reached up and cupped her cheek allowing his thumb to trail back and forth across her soft skin before he started leaning in to kiss her. Before he could get anywhere, however, a knock on the door caused Lyra to sit up blushing and call for the person to come in.

Jack felt the strong desire to kill Lance at that moment. If he wasn't allowed to kill the man, then he was sure as hell going to have revenge on him someday.

"You guys ready to go? Everyone's waiting in the globe room." Lyra grinned at him and nodded. She stood up and tossed her backpack over her shoulder before holding a hand out for Jack to take. He grabbed it and she pulled him up off the bed. He grabbed his staff with his free hand, having not let go of Lyra's hand, and walked side by side with her towards the globe room.

Once inside of the globe room Lyra took note of the serious atmosphere that was surrounding all of the Guardians. North was decked out in his traveling uniform, two swords strapped to his side. Bunny placed his boomerang back in it's proper place on his back after checking it over one good time. Sandy was amusing to Lyra since he was trying to look serious by pounding his one fist into the palm of his other hand like he was ready to punch someone in the face. Lyra held back the giggle she felt bubbling up at seeing the short man in such a way.

"We will take sleigh to get Lyra home, then we will proceed to Burgess." North announced loudly earning acknowledgements from all but one member.

"That's okay, mate. I'll just meet you there." Lyra noticed Bunny looked a little green at the thought of riding in the sleigh again.

"Nonsense Bunny! We go together-" North was interrupted as Bunny quickly made a tunnel and dashed out of the North Pole before anyone could fully argue with his plan. Jack and Lyra laughed at the eagerness to escape the sleigh. "So rude." North huffed in irritation before waving for everyone to follow him.

"Oh this is exciting! I haven't been able to ride in the sleigh yet!" Lyra practically bounced after North causing Jack to smile softly.

"Not afraid of heights are you?" Jack floated in front of her with a smug smirk on his lips. Lyra looked at him and smiled brightly.

"Absolutely terrified!" Jack nearly fell face first on the floor at her genuine answer.

"Why are you so excited then?" Just when Jack thought he could finally understand this strange girl she would go and throw a curve ball. She just laughed and skipped around him. Finally, after a few steps, she turned around to wink at him.

"Because you'll be there of course!" With that she turned and skipped off after the large Russian leaving Jack to looked at a wall nervously with a small blush across his cheeks. Lance lightly patted him on the shoulder before chuckling softly.

"Come on Romeo, can't let her be disappointed if you're late." Jack huffed but didn't let the comment bother him as he hurried after the girl.

Lyra watched in excitement as ferocious looking reindeer stomped their way out of a large barn-like area pulling a small red sleigh behind them. She jerked back as one of them nearly kicked her in the face as it jumped onto it's hind legs. Luckily, when her grandfather had been around there were horses on the property so she wasn't scared of them in the least bit. If you fall off you better get right back on is what he used to tell her.

Lyra turned her attention to the sleigh unfolding in a sense as it clicked itself into gear and became a super high-tech looking sleigh. She just stared at it for a moment before laughing out in joy.

"You'd give the people at Apple a run for their money!" North laughed and patted the girl on the back roughly.

"iPhone is nothing in comparison of sleigh! Everyone loves the sleigh!" North lifted the small girl up into the sleigh before climbing in himself. Jack appeared beside her and gave her a toothy grin.

"Pretty cool, huh?"

"Absolutely amazing!" She laughed out and looked around for something to strap herself in with. "Hey, aren't there seat belts?" Everyone around her laughed.

"Nah, North's pretty decent at driving so no worries." Lyra couldn't help the strong feeling of nervousness that filled her body from learning their were no seatbelts. The only way she survived on roller coasters was because there were seatbelts. Maybe she should have gone with Bunny instead. "Don't worry Lyra, I won't let you fly away." Jack chuckled after seeing her face pale a considerable amount.

"Okay everyone! Buckle up!" North called out before grabbing the reins attached to the reindeer. Sandy sat in the back with his arms in the air like he was really on a roller coaster.

"Oh, haha." Lyra bit out sarcastically as he snapped the reins and they were pulled into a forward motion faster than any roller coaster she had every experienced.

"Oh my god I'm going to die!" Lyra screamed out in pure fear. Jack found himself laughing so hard he couldn't see anything. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close thus causing her to practically latch onto him in a similar fashion to how she had clung to him when she saw a yeti for the first time.

This is turned just caused Jack to laugh and whoop out in joy as they took to the sky.

* * *

One snow globe warp later, and a rather rough landing on Lyra's front yard, Lyra fell out of the sleigh and laid on her stomach in the grass basking the in the joy of being on solid ground again.

"You seemed like you were having fun. Why act like you hated it?" Jack laughed as he gracefully landed on his feet beside her. He crouched down beside her and used the edge of his staff to poke her several times. She just grunted and ignored his nit-picking.

"Told you that bloody contraption was hell!" Lyra looked up at the sound of an Australian accent and smiled to Bunnymund.

"Eh, it wasn't that bad. I had a handsome winter spirit to hold me down in place of seat belts." She gave Bunny a cheesy grin while Jack blushed and stopped poking her with the staff. She smirked in victory at getting the winter spirit to stop poking her from using the comment like she had.

"If he's handsome I must be down right sexy." Lance smirked as he held a hand out for Lyra to take. She giggled softly before allowing the spirit of love to pull her to her feet. She heard Jack snort but she paid him no mind. Lance smiled before pulling something out of a small satchel on his side and handing it to her. She looked it over to see it was a golden arrow. It felt light, but solid, and gave her this warm feeling of comfort.

"What's this?" She raised and eyebrow and spun the golden arrow in her hand to get a better look at it. She felt Jack hovering behind her and looking over her shoulder as he was also curious as to what the sudden gift was.

"I put it together when I was home for Valentine preparations. This arrow will create a temporary barrier around you. Stab it into the ground and push the small button that is right here." He showed her the button on the side of the arrow before continuing. "It's only going to cover a small distance so stay inside of the pink aura no matter what. This should keep the nightmares, Pitch, and Leon at bay long enough for me to find you should they for some reason attack you. It's not going to last long, especially if they attack it with enough strength. If that's the case I want you to run." Lyra frowned at the serious aura that surrounded the blonde man before nodding slowly.

"But they don't know about me last we checked, right?" Lance nodded before shrugging. He ran his fingers through his hair before placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Lyra, you're like my sister, I'm not taking that chance that they just might know about you. This way it makes me feel a little bit better about leaving you alone. On that note, however, I need you to give me the bracelet I gave you for Christmas back." Lyra lifted up her right wrist, the left one still in a cast from when she broke it, and looked at the heart charmed bracelet. Lance unclasped it from her wrist and looked over the item before nodding and placing it in his pocket. Lyra pouted cutely at him taking her gift from her.

"This way I can track you. I know a few tracking spells but they only work if you have something that the person your looking for owns. This will make it easier to find you if you run."

"You just thought of everything, didn't you?" Lyra laughed softly before hugging the man. He tensed for a moment before a soft chuckle left his tall frame and he wrapped his arms around her. Jack watched; for once not mad to see the interaction between the two of them. He smiled softly before lightly patting his friend on the shoulder.

"Thank you Cupid." Jack softly spoke causing everyone to give Jack an odd look. Jack scowled deeply before crossing his arms across his chest and glaring at the others. "What am I not allowed to thank the man?"

"Just never thought we'd see the day, mate." Bunny smirked causing Jack to shrug and nod in agreement.

"This is for special circumstances." Lyra smiled softly at the winter spirit before turning her attention to the other Guardians still standing near the sleigh.

"Well, I guess this is where we part ways. It'll be getting dark soon and you should probably head out now to make sure you're there and prepared." Lyra looked at each and every Guardian for a long moment trying to memorize they way they looked right here in this moment. If they came back with so much as a scratch she would be the first one to notice it. A sinking feeling was filling her body and her stomach was twist in nervous knots that made her feel nauseated. She loved each and every one of these guys and she was so terrified that tonight would be the night she would lose one of them. Tears started to form along the edge on her eyes before she briskly walked up to North and hugged the large Russian. He seemed caught off guard for a moment but returned the hug a second later.

"No worries! We be back for breakfast! I feel it! In my belly!" He pulled back form her and grabbed his stomach for emphasis on feeling it in his belly. Lyra laughed, letting the tears that had been building up fall silently down her cheeks. Tooth suddenly swallowed her up in a hug from her side. She turned and buried her face in the woman's feathers before pulling back and smiling at her.

"Baby Tooth is going to stay with you as extra protection." Tooth told the girl before Baby Tooth flew up to Lyra and chirped happily. Lyra smiled and nodded at the extra company.

"I could use the company. Keep the boys out of trouble?" Tooth gave her a big grin before nodding.

"I'll try, but you know how they are." Both women laugh before Lyra was suddenly lifted up by a rather furry creature.

"You calm your little worries there lass. We'll be back before ya know it." Lyra nodded before laughing as the over-sized rabbit poked her in her side. Finally she turned her attention to Sandy who was grinning at her with a big, cheesy grin.

He floated up to her level and hugged her softly before pulling back. A top hat appeared over his head and he grabbed it and tipped it to her before a sun appeared over his head followed by images of him and the others.

"Back for breakfast. Got it. Should I cook something for your return?" Sandy nodded enthusiastically causing her to grin. She gave him the traditional thumbs up, which he returned, before she backed away from the sleigh.

"All right you two." She turned to face Lance and Jack with a scolding look already present. "No fighting. Help each other out. If I find out you cause the other to get hurt so help me-"

"Calm down Lyra, we're not enemies. You act like we're going on a funeral march or something." Jack smirked to the girl causing her to glare darkly at him. He put his hands up in defense not once letting that smirk of his drop. "I promise to look after Lance. He'll probably need my help anyway.

"Is that a challenge snowflake?"

"I bet I can destroy more nightmares than you tonight."

"Fine then. Top score gets to spend the day with Lyra when we get back. Alone." Lance smirked deviously causing the winter spirit to narrow his eyes at the man.

"Challenge accepted." They shook hands suddenly before turning to look at Lyra like the conversation had never happened. Lyra resisted the urge to hit her forehead with her palm.

"Just be careful." She walked up and gave Lance a hugged him one more time before the spirit of love ruffled her hair and walked over to the sleigh. He laughed the whole way there.

"You stay safe too. Don't hesitate to use that arrow." Lyra smiled to Jack before nodding in understanding.

"I'll keep the shovel on me at all times!" She mock saluted causing the boy to smile. He held his arms out for a hug figuring since everyone else got one he would be able to get one without being teased. She laughed softly before wrapping her arms around the cold boy and snuggling her face into his chest. "Please stay safe." She muttered into his chest causing him to chuckle softly.

"I'm the most reckless person you will ever meet. Besides, I rather have a knack for crashing into random buildings. However, for you my lady, I shall do my best." She pulled from the hug and lightly punched his arm causing them both to softly laugh.

"Come on Jack! Time to go!" North called out as he crawled back into the sleigh. Jack continued to look at Lyra before reluctantly making his way to the sleigh. Lyra watched him go, the weight in her chest getting heavier with each step he took, before she swallowed her fear and called out for him.

"Jack!" He half-turned to look at her curiously. She smiled softly to him before saying the one thing she knew he had grown to love hearing.

"Come home soon!" Jack stared at her for a long moment. An inner conflict of emotions began in his body. Home. How many times had she said that too him now? He knew she didn't mean come back to the house soon. It didn't mean come back to the North Pole soon either. The hidden meaning behind those words rang clear. '_Come back to me soon.'_ She was his home. She was so much more than that.

Jack turned to face her completely. He stood still for a long moment as he fought the strong desire that had been filling his body as of late. He heard the others behind him waiting patiently on the sleigh and he contemplated how much this would hurt his pride. Finally, part of him won the battle and he stabbed his staff into the ground beside him. He briskly walked up to the honey blonde girl before him, ignoring the surprised look that crossed her features, and did the one thing he had been dreaming of doing. Screw pride. Screw being teased for it later. This was now and this was what he wanted more than anything else. Like she had said before: Now or Never.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against his body. His other hand flew up to cup her cheek. She gasped in surprise at his sudden action but he paid no mind to it as he close his eyes and kissed her soft, warm lips. A warmth shot through his body begging him to have more. Take more than just the small feeling of her lips against his, but he ignored it as he enjoyed the small moment he had with her. He felt her tense up completely, but more than that he felt the fact that she didn't return the kiss.

He pulled away and lowered his eyes; afraid to look at the rejection that was evident in her reaction. He was about to pull completely away from her when her fingers gripped his sweatshirt tightly and he was roughly pulled into a another kiss. This one was a little more forceful, more passionate, as Lyra tried her best to convey her feelings for the boy in the one kiss. He felt the challenge and accepted it as he pushed more into the kiss to do the exact same thing. She was his warmth, his home, and his first love. He was her light, her partner, and her Guardian.

Jack heard commotion coming from the sleigh behind him but he ignored it for the feelings that were pulsing through his body similar to how his heart beat pulsed. After a moment she pulled away, though it was way too soon in Jack's opinion, and he opened his eyes to meet beautiful green ones. He leaned his forehead against her and smiled softly. The both started softly laughing at each other before Lyra said something that Jack never would have expected.

"Took you long enough, stalker." Jack groaned but smiled none-the-less. He leaned in and kissed her one last time before he pulled away completely. He hated how cold he felt after leaving her embrace; which was saying something being as he was the spirit of winter. He walked backwards towards the sleigh, not taking his eyes off her, before he laughed again and winked at her.

"I'll be back for round two!" Lyra laughed and rolled her eyes before making a shooing motion with her hand. He grabbed up his staff and jumped into the sleigh with new vigor and a new resolution in his mind.

He was coming back home no matter what.

"Hurry back you guys!" Lyra called out as North snapped the sleigh into motion. They were up in the sky within a matter of seconds before a snow globe was tossed and they were through the portal.

"How'd you guys get Bunny in the sleigh?" A grinning Jack looked at the now green rabbit before Lance shrugged.

"North didn't like the fact he so rudely left last time."

"Oh Jack I'm so proud of you! I thought you were never going to man up and kiss her!" Jack blinked at the swooning Tooth Fairy.

"Yeah, took you long enough Romeo." Lance added in causing the winter spirit to scowl deeply.

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up. There's no way you're killing my good mood right now."

"When is wedding!?" Jack turned solid red at the Russian's question before stuttering out several words that no one could understand.

"Chill Jack, was joke!" Jack groaned as everyone, excluding the sick Bunnymund, laughed at him.

* * *

Lyra sighed softly as the Guardian's disappeared into a warp. She looked around at her home surprised that not much had changed since her last visit here. She smiled at Baby Tooth fluttering beside her before she headed into the house to drop off a few things and to grab the keys to her truck. She dropped her backpack on the table with a soft thud before pulling out all of her gifts from Christmas. She dug around the backpack searching for the jar of golden sand, but after a moment of not feeling it, and not wanting to empty the whole backpack she just decided to leave it in there. She placed the arrow inside of her pack and zipped it back up before placing it on her back. She grabbed the truck keys off the counter and looked around her kitchen one good time before Baby Tooth started chirping loudly and pointing at the camera. Lyra frowned slightly and lifted the camera up. Baby Tooth hit the power button and pointed at the camera. Taking the hint, Lyra started skimming through the pictures that had been taken; smiling at each and everyone of them. That it, until she came across some odd pictures.

"Wait. When did Jack and I sleep together?" Baby Tooth giggled in her own way at the expression that covered the honey blonde's face.

* * *

It was completely dark outside by time Lyra pulled into the driveway of Alayna Myer's house. She had been to see each child individually, the twins having been the hardest visit of the night, and this was her final stop before she finally headed home and _attempted_ to sleep. Were the others fighting right now? She sure hoped they were doing okay.

The other children had taken her warning to heart, believing her completely as they usually did, but promised to keep everything secret from their parents and to know that if anything happened she would be trying to help them. Mike and Matt's parents were a mess when she arrived at the hospital. It had taken her a while to calm them down, and eventually she took her leave once their mother had passed out from exhaustion. She had whispered in each boys ears that her and the Guardian's were going to save them. It didn't affect them any, but she hoped that maybe through all the screams they would hear that someone was still trying. It had broken her heart to see them both like that but it also served to fuel her resolve.

She knocked on Alayna's door to be greeted by the young bookworm's mother.

"Lyra! I heard you were visiting everyone today. Come in!" Lyra smiled softly as she entered the house. Her nose was assaulted with the smell of apple cinnamon from the millions of candles that were burning around the living room.

"I keep tell you with all these candles you're going to burn your house down." Lyra teased causing the blonde woman to laugh at her.

"You know I love candles-"

"Lyra!" Lyra blinked in shock as she was assaulted by a small white blonde child.

"Hey there kiddo! How have you been?" Lyra ruffled the girl's hair before lifting her up and hugging her. Alayna pulled back and smiled at her before frowning softly.

"Where's Jack?"

"Oh? Jack? Lyra do you have a boyfriend?" Lyra blushed slightly at the older woman's questions but brushed it off quickly.

"No momma! Jack Frost!" This was the point where things got awkward.

"Y-yeah! We've been hanging out. This Jack Frost character and I. I told them a story and it seems to have gotten out of hand." Lyra winked to Alayna causing the girl to catch onto the lie. She giggled playfully before looking over at her mother.

"Momma I wanna play with Lyra!" The woman laughed and headed for the kitchen.

"Fine fine! I understand when I'm not wanted."

"So where is Jack really?" Lyra placed the girl back down on the ground. About that time Baby Tooth crawled out of Lyra's pocket causingt he small girl to gasp in awe. Alayna giggled happily as the small hummingbird creature rested on her shoulder.

"Actually, that's why I'm here little trooper. I need you to do something for me-" Before Lyra could say anything the power suddenly went out in the house. Thankfully, the house stayed illuminated by the many candles that were currently lit.

"Oh dear. I wonder where the power went." Lyra heard Alayna's mother from the kitchen. Lyra frowned deeply and was about to continue before noticing Alayna's terrified gaze. She turned her attention to the living room window to see there were no lights on anywhere on the street.

The thing that really caught her attention where the large mounds of black sand that were covering the town at a distance. Lyra gasped in shock as recognition hit her. Both her and Alayna moved to the window and stared out it.

"Pitch's sand? How is that here! Burgess is much to far away for us to be effected by it here!"

"Lyra, what is that?" Alayna's voice shook in fear as the girl nearly screamed out. Alayna's mother came into the room to check on her daughter. She lifted the small girl up and looked out the window curiously. Lyra knew the woman wouldn't be able to see the sand so explaining to Alayna what it was wasn't really an option at the moment.

"What in the world is that?" The older woman's voice also shook in fear as she stared wide-eyed out the window. Lyra's heart stopped as she turned to look at the woman beside her.

"You can see it?" Lyra all but whispered before the woman looked at her oddly.

"Of course I can see it! Do you know what that is?" Lyra didn't spare the woman an answer as she tossed her backpack off her shoulder and dumped the contents all over the floor. She snatched up the arrow Lance had given her. Lyra tossed open the front door, ignoring the protests from the two girls inside, before flinging herself outside. She stabbed it into the ground and pressed the button that Lance had shown her just hours before. A pink aura started emanating from the arrow before a bubble surrounded the yard and the half of the house the girls were currently located in. About the time the bubble finished forming waves of black sand smashed into it. Lyra watched in relief as none of the sand penetrated the bubble. Alayna and her mother were outside now watching in awe as the sand moved around them like water before it started to form into grotesque creatures that Lyra was all too familiar with.

"Damn it." Lyra cursed softly as some of the sand before her started parting in a path almost. Baby Tooth appeared beside Lyra chirping relentelessly as she looked around nervously.

"Baby Tooth I need you to stay with Alayna. Can you do that?" Baby Tooth nodded before flying away to go to the little girl.

"Lyra that is amazing! How are you-?"

"Momma it's the man in the closet!" Alayna suddenly screamed out and hid her face in her mothers shoulder. Baby Tooth was resting on Alayna's shoulders against nuzzling her neck in a loving manner as she tried to calm the child down. Lyra's eyes widened as she looked at the small child before she turned to see a man had appeared in the area where the sand had parted. Golden eyes met greens ones as a dark stare down began between Lyra and Pitch Black.

"Well, my dear, it's seems you and I finally meet in person. I'm happy to say it's nice to see you. I have been waiting quite a while to obtain something from you that you have." He held his hand out as a sickening grin crossed his lips. Lyra's eyes cut down to the jar that rested against her hip. "But given the circumstances, I'm glad to have waited to retrieve this item like I did. Oh, won't it just be so much fun to watch Jack Frost squirm over you!" A deep, dark laughter came from the man as he spun around with his arms spread wide.

"After all, it's only a matter of time before this barrier breaks. And I'm quite sure you don't want me to hurt your friends, right?" Lyra gritted her teeth as she looked back at the terrified Alayna and confused mother.

She had to get Pitch away from them. She looked up at the sky to see that it was moonless and scowled deeply. If Pitch was here what did that mean happened to the others? Were they truly okay?

She sneered at Pitch before standing up straight and glaring at him darkly.

"Nice to meet you Pitch. I'm Lyra Greenhill."

The two stood still as an official stare down contest began. Meanwhile, the dark creatures of the night shrieked and desperately clawed to get inside of the slowly dying barrier.

* * *

**Author's Note: Ah, finally the kiss is here. We'll be switching back and forth between Jack and Lyra next chapter so you guys shoulder get a good amount of information of what is going on. Well, mostly. There's still a lot of things not revealed yet and might not be revealed for a bit. Gotta keep the suspense somehow. ;D Sadly, the next few chapters I'm not looking forward too. Give me strength Manny to get through these chapters!*hides in a corner and grows mushrooms* Anyway! I hope you guys liked it ;D**


	19. Chapter 19: War of Change

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians. **

**This chapter was a hard one for me to write. Obviously. I will say this, War of Change- Thousand Foot Krutch(Andy Hunter's Remix) is one of the reasons I finished this chapter. That is why said chapter is named what it is. I hope you guys enjoy...**

* * *

Jack clicked his tongue in annoyance before running his fingers through his wind blown hair. He was perched on top of a street light watching the skies for a sign of Pitch and Leon, but so far both of them hadn't made their appearance known. It was a bit frustrating considering how eager Jack was to finish this whole ordeal up and to go back home. He was having a hard time shaking the bad feeling that was forming in the bottom of his stomach, and the waiting game he was currently participating in was not helping to ease the issue.

"Man, we could have stopped for Starbucks on the way here at this rate!" He groaned out before swinging backwards and hanging upside down from the street lamp. Lance looked up at him from his position on the sidewalk below and chuckled.

"I wouldn't mind some coffee right about now. It's a little too cold out here for my tastes." Jack raised an eyebrow and smirked deviously before allowing the temperature around them to start falling some more. Lance rolled his eyes at the teen before shrugging his shoulder and returning his attention to the surrounding area.

"Do you think we came to the wrong spot?" Tooth fluttered around nervously while Sandy floated on a cloud of golden sand deep in thought. North was polishing his sleigh, which was poorly parked in the park, and completely enjoying his way of killing time while he complained about how the yeti's were slacking off when it came to polishing his precious sleigh. It was taking every bit of Bunny's self control not to smack the old man upside the head.

Before anyone could properly answer Tooth's question the sky began to fill with dark clouds. A large breeze of wind pushed into the Guardians, and a dark aura began to surround the small town of Burgess. Jack flipped off of the street lamp to the sidewalk down below and placed his staff in front of him if a defensive position. A soft chuckle echo across the sky as a dark figure suddenly was sitting on the very street lamp Jack had just been occupying.

"My my, I seem to be fashionably late. Or perhaps it's that you all are just early? Well, regardless, thank you all for waiting so patiently. This is a meeting I have been dying to attend!" The figure chuckled darkly as it pulled back the hood that had been covering it's face. Lance gritted his teeth, his bow forming in his hand instantly, as he stared up at the figure that he once called his brother.

"Oh Brother! How wonderful of you to be at this party! I expected you would come, but I almost assumed the Guardians would be the ones to come see me. What with your 'precious holiday' and what not." Leon smirked slightly, his red eyes skimming back and forth between the enemies that surrounded him.

"Trust me, _Brother, _I wouldn't miss this for the world." Leon clapped happily before laughing softly. He raised his right hand up beside him before grinning maliciously at his opponents.

"Shall we begin then? My dear friend Pitch is sadly unable to attend this joyous meeting. I must say, however, he is surely here in spirit." He snapped his fingers on the hand that was raised when the whole area around them became flooded with an unimaginable amount of mutated nightmares. Tooth gasped loudly and unconsciously moved closer to Jack-whom was currently the closest to her. Bunny let out a low whistle and Jack just huffed in annoyance.

"Not these guys again." He all but pouted causing Tooth to look at him like he was crazy. Sandy just shrugged and shook his head as he mentally agreed with Jack.

"Oh they're not that bad! I worked really hard on these things for Pitch. I think they're a vast improvement compared to the pathetic things he created." Leon looked at the back of his hand before he wiped his nails on his shirt in an attempt to make them look nice.

"I don't have time to deal with these things." Jack pointed his staff up at Leon and smirked deviously. "You and Pitch are the ones I'm after. Instead of watching, why not come down here and fight me yourself!" Leon tapped his chin in thought before tilting his head to the side. He stood up on the street lamp, a spear forming in his hands, and smiled innocently at the boy below him.

"Pitch wasn't lying when he said you know how to have fun." Leon flipped off the street lamp and swung his spear down at Jack. Jack threw his staff up with both hands and used it as a shield to stop Leon's strike mid-swing. The moment their weapons touched the nightmares screeched and charged at the rest of the group.

Everything around Jack sped up as all hell broke loose. Nightmares and Guardians all sprung into action as the attacks flew from both sides. Jack narrowed his eyes as he stared at the man before him, not minding the rest of the action being as he trusted his allies, before he twirled his staff and swung it at the man. He released a bolt of ice towards him as Leon dodged the actual staff. Leon twirled his spear in front of him and easily sent Jack's bolt of ice flying in another direction. A gray swirl of energy began to swirl up Leon's spear as Jack prepared for his next attack.

"Where's Pitch?" Jack yelled at the man as he successfully blocked another one of Leon's deathly swings from his spear. Leon just chuckled before resuming his attack.

"He's quite easy to use, you know. He thinks that we're working together, but he hasn't quite figured out that he's merely a pawn in my little game. If you truly must know he's working on something for me. You see, there's something that I need, and while he doesn't understand what I am doing he's far to power-crazed to deny helping me. It's sad really." Jack lunged another attack at the Leon, which he dodged, before Jack countered his dodge by punching Leon square in the jaw. Leon stumbled back and chuckled, before he popped his jaw back into place. "My my, nice arm you've got there!"

"If you like that then I'm sure you'll enjoy the rest of this fight." Jack rolled his shoulders before falling back into a defensive stance. "So, since you're manipulating Pitch, what do you have him doing? What is it that you're after?"

"At the moment?" Leon looked at his spear before the swirling gray energy began to thicken in size. "At the moment I'm after what you hold closest to your heart, Jack. For you see, she has something that I love quite dearly." Jack's eyes widened in shock as he stared at the dark haired man before him. Did this mean he had sent Pitch after Lyra? No, he couldn't be talking about Lyra, right?

"What?" Jack's voice was barely a whisper as Leon began laughing loudly.

"Ignorant my wonderful brother is! I've known about Lyra from the day she found Aria in the woods! Not to mention, Lance's ability at keeping himself cut off from telepathic communication is quite horrible! No, my dear friend! I was in the woods with Lyra the night she found Aria. At first I had hoped she'd do the work of finding my love's new body, but I fear she's taken far too long. I need my darling returned to me now, for the main plan is about to begin!" Leon swung his spear at Jack one more time. Jack barely dodged the attack and he fell backwards onto the hard ground below him. His mind was distracted by what Leon said, and more than anything he now knew he had to go find Lyra. Fast.

Leon swung his spear for Jack's head trying to take advantage of Jack's distracted state. Jack noticed the attack and managed to shove his staff up just in time to block it. However, the grey energy surrounding Leon's spear suddenly pulsed through Jack's staff and straight into his body. Jack felt an unbearable heat fill his being; a sharp pain shooting straight to his core. He gasped out in shock as the wind was practically knocked from his body and the overwhelming sensation of Leon's power rippled through his very being.

Someone grabbed the hood of Jack's sweatshirt and yanked him to a safe place among the circle of Guardians as Lance shot arrow after arrow towards his brother. Jack gasp for air as he tried to push the pain from the attack out of his body. What the hell had he done? Better yet, was he always this powerful?

"Jack are you okay?" Tooth fluttered around Jack nervously as she knocked nightmares away from the winter spirit. Jack closed his eyes and concentrated on getting the dark energy out of his body before nodding towards Tooth.

"I-I'm fine. L-Lyra. W-We…" He was having a hard time speaking, his words stuttered as he forced himself into a standing position using his staff.

"What about Lyra?" Jack noticed most of the Guardian's looking at him worried while they continued to fight the constant flow of nightmares.

"She's-"

"Jack! Lyra's used the arrow!" Lance suddenly landed beside the winter spirit after dodging an energy blast from his brother. Jack felt his stomach knot up and his heart sink dramatically.

"I have to go to her!" Jack gripped his staff tightly as his eyes narrowed in on Leon floating in the air above them. Looks like Aria had gifted Leon the ability to float as well.

"You and Lance go after the girl. We'll handle this here, mate." Jack looked to Bunny before noticing the others nod in agreement.

"You sure you've got this?" Lanced asked before North chuckled softly.

"You kidding? This is going to be epic!"

"Oh no, I'm afraid you'll not be leaving. See, I need that girl to die, and you'll just get in the way of that happening if you go after her." Jack's power flared inside of him at the words the man spoke. He gripped his staff and stabbed the end of it into the ground. Blue energy of ice spread around the Guardians in the form of a circle and began blasting nightmares into dust as the power expanded around them. It was like an upgraded version of when Jack threw his staff down to freeze the floor and surrounding elves back at the North Pole.

"You so much as touch her, I will kill you." Jack's voice was low, a darkness surrounding the Guardian of Fun that was never seen before. Leon smirked in rejoice as he snapped his fingers and started forming more creatures around them.

"I like that Jack. That anger you're displaying right now. It's absolutely _delicious_!" Feeding of the anger that Jack supplied to him; he charged at the winter spirit.

* * *

Lyra looked around trying to figure out just how exactly she was supposed to 'run'. There were a _ton_ of nightmares out there. Let's not forget the stupid, glaring man that controlled them was patiently waiting for the barrier that was protecting her to break. She pulled at her hair trying to force herself to come up with an idea on what exactly she should do at this point. She looked back at Alayna crying softly in her mothers arms, no doubt Pitch was enjoying the fear coming from the poor child, and her mother was currently looking about as scared as her daughter at the creatures surrounding them.

"Can you see him?" Lyra ask causing the woman to frown at her.

"See who? Lyra ll I see is these…these things!" Lyra nodded in understanding before leaning over and kissing Alayna on the head.

"Alayna, I will not let him hurt you, okay? You are one of my precious friends. You and the other children have been my everything lately. I will keep you safe, but you have to believe in me okay?" The tear-soaked child looked up at the honey blonde woman before softly nodding her head. "Baby Tooth, I need you to stay here and keep them safe. No matter what I do, do not leave her, you understand me?" Baby Tooth chirped nervously before softly nodding her head. The mini tooth fairy then snuggled against the child's neck again trying to comfort her.

"Lyra what are you going to do?" Lyra looked up to Alayna's mother before frowning softly.

"He's after me. I'm going to lead them away."

"What? Lyra you can't go out there!" Before the woman could protest anymore Lyra quickly ran into the house once more and dug through her belonging that she had previously dumped all over the floor. She found her gloves among the mess and she sighed in relief before pulling them on. Something golden caught her attention out of the corner of her eye, and she turned to see her small jar of dancing dream sand. She frowned in thought for a moment before snatching up the bottle. She pulled the cork out of the top and poured the sand into her hands, sad to have destroyed such a beautiful gift, but knowing just how strong Sandy's sand really was. She held as much as she could without having it run through her fingers, and proceeded to run back outside to re-evaluate her situation.

She couldn't outrun the nightmares. She was not that fast, nor did she trust her lungs that much when it came to running. Her eyesight zeroed in on her truck just outside the barrier before she quickly made it look like she was still looking around for a possible escape.

"Well if you really want to come out here how about I give you the chance to come out? Wouldn't do to keep your trapped in there when you're so understanding and willing to come out here to me." Pitch waved his hand causing the nightmares to back up a good distance from the barrier. Lyra took this as her chance. She took off running for her truck, exiting the bubblegum pink barrier and feeling the fear fill her body from the surrounding nightmares. She pushed it down, knowing full well that she would not allow herself to go back to such a state, and barely had time to react as Pitch appeared in between her and the door to her truck. She tossed the golden sand in the man's face, stunning him temporarily, as she jerked open her door and slid into the seat. She turned the key, thanking the heavens when the car turned over quickly, and looked up to see Pitch was no longer stunned.

"Not a good move." He flicked his hand towards her and a stream of pure black sand shot in through the window towards her. She heard Alayna and her mother scream out as the glass in front of her shattered from the dark sand. She tossed her hands up in front of her, and her love for Carol grew ten-fold as her gloved hands bounced the sand from directly hitting her and instead caused it to strike around her. It cut her seat belt completely in half, put several holes in her seat around her, and manage to cut the area of her belt that held Aria's jar safely against her hip. Aria's jar rolled into the middle seat causing a slight panic to rise in Lyra. She left the jar there, knowing that moving them would keep her safer, and had the full intention of bringing Aria into her lap after they were putting some distance between them and Pitch.

She threw the truck into reverse, slamming on the gas and running over one of the nightmares-along with the poor mailbox that just happened to be in the way-and quickly put the truck in drive as nightmares started to charge at the car. She slammed the gas once more, spinning the tires out as she sped off down the abandoned street.

Pitch glanced one more time at the women inside the barrier before he chuckled darkly and hopped onto of one of his horse nightmares.

"I suppose that was well played, but you can only run for so long. No one can escape fear." With that, he left the barrier alone and took off after the girl.

* * *

Lyra was going much faster than she had ever drove before in her five years of driving experience. She was one that usually tried to stay relatively close to the speed limit, not at all enjoying speeding vehicles since that had been the cause of her parents death, but she had to admit it was quite a thrill driving so fast. It helped to fuel her current adrenaline rush which she really needed if she was to keep up with the immortal nightmare king. She did admit that she really wished she had her seat belt on, but with the nightmare sand snapping it in half just moments ago there was no point in even trying. That and she was currently terrified to take both of her hands off the wheel. She glanced to the side briefly to see that Aria was still safe in the middle seat where she left her, and if she wasn't so scared to take her hands off the wheel she would have brought the jar to the safety of her lap by now.

Lyra was on a back highway that was rarely used by the people of her town. Over to the right of her was a woods area that separated the highway from a large cliff that lead to the ocean. It was a beautiful view of the ocean driving down this highway during the day, but being as the road was so out of the way of everything it wasn't really used.

That was why she had gone this way. She wanted to get Pitch as far away from people as she possibly could.

Lyra yelped in shock as two nightmare skeletons appeared in front of the vehicle. She realized that at her speed she wouldn't have a chance to hit the brakes, and before she could even process her next thought she ran them over. She sighed in relief at the two creatures shattering before a jerk in her steering wheel told her something else had happened instead of her killing them. She heard Pitch's dark laughter echo in the night around her as her steering wheel completely jerked out of her grasp and the truck abruptly turned and drove into the woods.

Lyra tugged and pulled with all her might to take control of the steering wheel again, but the car continued to drive it self. She mentally noted that nightmares were excellent drivers since the truck was dodging trees expertly left and right. She slammed her foot down on the brake pedal only to realize the pedal went straight to the floor without any tension to it. Her eyes widened in shock as she continuously kept slamming her foot on the brake.

"You cut my brake line? Are you kidding me?" Another round of laughter flowed around the truck causing the fear she had been so desperately trying to fight starting fill her body again. She went to see if she could open the door, but after struggling with the door handle then all the automatic buttons for the locks and the windows she realized that Pitch had taken complete control of her vehicle.

"Son of a bitch." She cursed, using one of the curses she wasn't exactly fond of, but felt it was perfect given the circumstances. She yanked open her glove box and started searching for things to bust open her window only to find papers scattered throughout it. She slammed her hands down on the steering wheel and hit her head back on the seat as she looked in front of her. She swallowed loudly as she realized that Pitch was driving the car straight towards the cliff.

"You plan on killing me. Don't you?" A cloud of black sand formed in front of the broken windshield where Pitch's face formed. It briefly reminded her of how the wizard in the Wizard of Oz portrayed himself while the real him hid behind the curtain. His yellow eyes shined in high amusement, and the smirk that crossed his lips gave Lyra all the answer that she needed.

"Leon says you have to go. Who am I to complain about the desires of my partner? After all, he has helped me considerably with all of my requests. In fact, I'm sure your precious Jack will be joining you soon." Tears silent fell down Lyra's cheeks as she smiled softly. She looked up at Pitch before grinning at him.

"You'll never beat Jack. Because, even if you kill me, my belief in him will never die." Pitch narrowed his eyes before snorting.

"Belief is nothing compared to the power Leon and I now have. Such a naïve child you are." With that the cloud of black sand disappeared and Lyra was left with the image of the large tree that was right in front of the car moments before the edge of the cliff. She turned to look at Aria, reaching her hand over and lightly touching the jar, before she spoke softly to the air around her.

"Aria. I failed. I hope you'll forgive me." She felt the jar weakly pulse beneath her hand before she closed her eyes and allowed a few more tears to fall down her cheeks.

"_I'm sorry Jack."_

The passenger side of the truck slammed into the tree right before the edge of the cliff. The drivers side was free of the tree blocking it. The speed in addition with her not having a seat belt sent Lyra's body out the windshield and over the edge of the cliff.

Pitch walked up to the truck with a sadistic grin across his lips. The vehicle didn't even look like it was a truck anymore. He used his scythe to cut a gap in the twisted metal before he reached in and pulled out the undamaged jar that held Aria's spinning form. Ribbon like material surrounded the bottle before it suddenly shattered and left just Aria in the bottle. He laughed loudly as he looked up at the moonless sky.

"Not only does Leon get what he's been wanting, but now I can finally watch your precious Jack Frost wither away into nothing! This will surely break the boy, and there's nothing you can do it about it! You have no power, so even if you wanted to save her you can't!" Pitch laughed even louder as he pulled the cork out of the top of the jar. The jar's mouth opened wide and he reached his hand in to pull the spinning orb out.

He held it up to his eyes to admire the small child like creature spinning in his hand. He frowned when he noticed that the small girl's eyes were wide open, and that there were a beautiful shade of violet.

Hadn't Aria's eyes been gray before he killed her?

* * *

Jack and Lance finally arrived at Alayna's house. Jack and Lance were both covered in many cuts and a few bruises, but after finally managing to shake off Leon they had arrived. Lance touched the barrier that surrounded the house and it shattered similar to a bubble being popped. Jack briskly walked in and noticed Alayna and her mother curled up in a ball against the house. Jack knelt down beside them when Baby Tooth suddenly flew in his face chirping constantly. He frowned and looked around, wondering where Lyra was, before a soft voice stole his attention from Baby Tooth.

"Jack, you have to help Lyra." Jack reached his hands out and cupped the small child's face. His heart was doing flips and he was starting to feel nauseated. It had taken everything in his being to calm his anger when he was fighting Leon. He noticed that if he stayed angry at the man then he couldn't land a single hit on him. The moment he got his feelings under control was what gave him and Lance the advantage they needed to escape.

"Where is she sweetie? Is she here?"

"Alayna who are you talking to?" Her mother softly asked before looking around them in fear.

"Jack Frost, mommy. He's real and he'll help Lyra from the man in the closet." Jack gritted his teeth before he asked Alayna the same question.

"Come on Alayna, I need to know where Lyra is."

"Lyra drove that way." Alayna pointed down the direction of the street that her truck had taken off.

"I-I don't know if you're really there, Jack." Alayna's mother stuttered, looking around the air trying to catch a glimpse of him. He wondered briefly what had caused her to be so understanding of her daughters stories of make-believe. "Lyra saved us. She put that bubble thing around us before those creatures reached us." Did Alayna's mother see the nightmares? Maybe that's why she seemed so frightened. "She said they were after her and she was going to lead them away. She ran out of the bubble and drove off. Please…"

Lance came out of the house holding a small jar with a small amount of golden sand left over inside. He had been listening to the whole conversation from his search in the house. He poured the sand into his hand and lightly dusted it over the two women, successfully putting them into a peaceful sleep, before lifting them up and moving them back inside to the couch. When he returned back outside Jack was already staring intensely down the street.

"How long ago did she leave? Do you know?" Jack voice was trembling, fear filling him to his soul as he imagine where Lyra currently was.

"I'd say about forty-five minutes to an hour ago." Lance pulled out the bracelet and started to track where the girl had drove off too.

"I can't catch her signal…." Lance said softly causing Jack to stare at the man in shock.

"You have to! You said you could find her with that if she ran!" Jack practically screamed at him. Baby Tooth fluttered in front of them chirping loudly before taking off down the road and signaling for them to follow her. She been able to keep track of what roads Lyra turned on by flying up high in the barrier before she completely disappeared out of sight. Lance flew up into the air, grabbing Jack's hand, and carried the winter spirit along after the small fairy leading them to Lyra's location.

* * *

After about forty more minutes of searching Lance and Jack finally came across an area along a highway that had a ton of emergency vehicles on the side. Their lights were blinding at this time of night.

Jack felt like being sick. He knew exactly why they were here. Lance let him go and landed gracefully beside him. The both noticed the way the woods had a nice path in between the trees. Lance felt his body tensing from what they were about to find. Beside him, Jack was slightly starting to hyperventilate.

They both ran into the wood's following the obvious path that was ripped into being by a vehicle of some sort. The main thing that had them following the path, however, was the bread crumb trail of black sand that went along the path.

"L-Lance…she…" Jack was whispering; trying desperately for someone to tell him he wasn't about to find what he thought he would find. Lance placed a hand on his friend's shoulder and kept moving forward.

They came across some emergency personnel and what Jack knew used to be Lyra's truck. He fell to his knees at the sight of the truck and started looking all around the area for any sign of Lyra. Maybe she was okay, and just needed to go to the hospital, or maybe she wasn't actually in that truck! Jack noticed a large amount of black sand near the truck and in the middle of the pile of a sand was a jar that looked extremely familiar.

An empty jar that Jack knew should never be empty.

"Looks like the driver must have gone over. At the speed this truck hit the tree, and the way the windshield looks I wouldn't be surprised if that's the case. I've issued for some divers to go out and try to find the body. I doubt they survived this." A larger officer spoke to a fellow officer as he admired the accident area.

"John, you know we can't pronounced someone dead just yet! Wait until the divers find the body!" Body? Why were they talking about Lyra like she was just a piece of flesh that needed to be inspected?

"You know as well as I do, son, if the accident didn't kill 'em then the cliff surely did."

Jack felt like he was in a dream, his limbs felt like they were jelly, and his mind felt like it was drugged. Lance could only stare at the scene in absolute shock; not even sure how to console his friend because he couldn't even grasp the painful feelings that were flowing through his own body.

Jack stood up slowly, walked over to the edge of the cliff and looked out at the ocean below. Tears were falling down his cheeks, he was trembling, and for some reason he couldn't seem to get a good grasp of the oxygen his lungs so badly needed. He looked up to see the moon was no where to be found, and when realization fully hit him that there was no hope he completely broke. His heart shattered into a million pieces. His soul emptied everything until it became a ghost of who he thought he was. He was nothing. He didn't want to be anything. He didn't want to be here. Not with out her.

"I didn't get to…..I never got to prove my love to her." He voice was barely a whisper as the sobs finally took a hold of his body. He wrapped his arms around his torso, trying desperately to hold himself together, as he tried without success to convince himself that she was okay. That he would see her come morning.

He knew, without a doubt, that Pitch had taken her away. His best friend. His first love. His home. He had destroyed it.

He destroyed everything and Jack had been powerless to stop it. Too stupid to see what was being planned. He should have never left her side! He should have been here!

Now, she was gone.

Lance winced in pain as Jack's pain filled voiced screamed out Lyra's name into the night's air before loud sobs were all that anyone could hear.

* * *

**Author's Note: *hides in a bomb shelter* Please, do not kill me. pearlsofwisdom especially. I know not what I do!*wails* (Okay, I do know what I do and I swear it will be okay!)**

**So we got a small insight, but ultimately the real plan hasn't been revealed. That's coming up, I swear! I guess I need to get stated on the next chapters, huh? **


	20. Chapter 20: Broken Memories

**Author's Note: I'm so sorry for the delay on updating everyone! I got extremely sick recently and haven't been moving around much so I never got the chance to update! Forgive me! I was so happy to come back and see all the reviews, favorites, follows, and the fact this story was even add to a community! Amazing, simply amazing!**

**On top of that! FleetPoco drew amazing fanart. I'm going to put a link to her tumblr account on my page for everyone to see it if they wish to after I finish posting this ^.^**

**On that note: This chapter is rather uneventful and short. Next chapter will have a lot of information we've all probably been waiting for. This is more of a filler than anything. I'll probably edit it a little more, but it's so hot in my room I just wanted to hurry and get this out. So I hope this isn't as bad as I feel it is!**

**In other words, please enjoy and prepare for my next update to be soon! I'm off to plan it out now!**

* * *

Four days. It had been four whole days since the battle with Leon and Pitch took place and failed miserably. More than that, it had been four days since he had seen her face. Heard her laugh. Felt the warmth that was Lyra Greenhill.

He hadn't been fully aware of what really happened after he broke down on the edge of the cliff that night. The other Guardians had joined them soon after the mess that was once her truck was removed and the cops finished up their investigation around the area. He wasn't sure how long he had sat there, blankly staring out at the ocean as the hours passed and the sun started to softly peak over the horizon. All he knew was that he had cried enough for the whole group and he couldn't find anymore tears to shed.

He just felt broken.

The Guardians had moved him to Lyra's house without him fully being conscious of their actions. Once he was in her yard, he had moved into the house on reflex and made his way to her bedroom. The room where he first met her by crashing through her roof. The room where it all began.

This is where he still sat, days later, on the floor looking blankly out her window. The others except for Lance had left yesterday to return to their duties. They were constantly checking in on him through Lance, however. Lance himself hadn't dared speak to the winter spirit knowing nothing he could say would help.

Lance had lost someone he loved. Though, now that he watched over Jack, he realized just what it meant to have true love creep into your being. When he had lost Aria it had hurt, but anger filled him more than sorrow. Was his love for Aria really so different than what Jack and Lyra shared?

Lance walked down the hall of the now dark and quiet house towards the room his friend was hiding in. He slowly opened the door, taking note of just how dark the boy was keeping the room, and noticed him wrapped up in one of Lyra's blankets in his same spot on the floor near the window. It was an improvement from the past few days seeing as he would have had to move to obtain the blanket.

"Jack?" He softly called out to the winter spirit already expecting the broken man to not answer.

"It still smells like her. Does that make me a creeper to notice that?" Jack softly said as he buried his nose once more into the blanket wrapped around him. Lance stared at him in shock for a long moment before a soft smile grazed his lips. He quietly walked over to Lyra's bed, afraid any noise could possibly destroy this moment, and gently sat down so he could face his friend.

"Jack, you can't stay like this. Lyra's not going to come back if you sit here and wait for her." He carefully spoke the words, his mind defensive incase the winter spirit tried to freeze him over for saying such a thing. While it was true Jack needed time to mourn it was also true that Jack was needed to keep fighting. Jack looked up at the blonde hair man, his eyes missing their usual mischievous spark to them, before a soft sigh escaped his pale lips. Jack closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall with a deep frown across his lips.

"She's not gone. She will show back up." Lance sighed softly at his friend denial of the fact that Lyra was lost to them.

"Jack, the divers haven't been able to locate her. With injuries she sustained from that accident even if she did somehow survive, and survive the fall of the cliff, she'd have died by this point. Just because they haven't found her doesn't mean-"

"Lyra is not gone!" Jack rudely cut in with a sharp tone. He glared darkly at the man before him before his grip tightened on the blanket and he pulled it closer to him. "I feel like I can still hear her. Like right now she's in this room and I just can't see her. She's not gone. Not yet."

"But Jack, Man in moon couldn't have saved her. He had no strength that night. The other Guardians barely escaped Leon because of the lack of support from him. How could he possibly have saved her?"

"You just don't get it do you? Lyra wouldn't leave me." Lance decided that giving up right now and trying this conversation again later would be best. It was obvious that his friend was at the denial stage of grief, and nothing anyone said would change his mind. However, when would Lance ever get the boy talking to him again like this. It was now or never.

"Jack… I haven't had many friends over my existence as Cupid. After the betrayal of my brother, I pushed everyone away. I distanced myself from everyone…sometimes even Aria. You and Lyra and the Guardians, I feel like I can trust you all. More than that, I feel like you and I are actually really good friends. I would even go as far as to say I consider you my best friend. That being said, I can't stand to see you like this. More than that, I can't let you drop out of this fight. I can't let Lyra's determination to help us defeat them go to waste because of your denial of the way things are."

"Mon ami, what happens when people connected by the red string of fate are killed? What happened to their string?" Lance was caught of guard by Jack calling him _my friend_in French. More than that, he hadn't thought Jack really paid much attention to his talks about his powers. Lance smiled, happy to know he wasn't the only one who saw their friendship, before crossing his arms over his chest and pondering the question.

"It really all depends on the person. Some people the string remains, and the living person lives on with the love of the lost partner as their reason for living. There's nothing connected to the end, but it just kind of floats around. Others the string shatters like glass, which usually happens when someone becomes so broken they themselves feel nothing anymore. Then there are people who form a second string with my help, and their previous string braids itself into the new one as a new love acquired situation. Why do you ask?"

"What happened to my string?" Lance blinked in shock. He hadn't even considered summoning up the ability to look at their string. He himself was so upset over the loss of their friend he didn't consider what the effects were on the spiritual level of Jack. He concentrated his powers to h is eyes for a moment, before looking down at the winter spirits hand and following the vibrant red string that flowed along the floor. After about a foot of red string, the string suddenly turned a deep blue color and faded similar to how the string usually did when the person connected to the other end weren't in the area at the time.

"I've never seen something like this before." Lance whispered in awe as Jack chuckled softly.

"I've been in here trying to calm my anger. Lyra…She wouldn't want me fighting for her out of anger. I don't intend to walk away from this fight, Lance. In fact, I have the special desire to kill both of them myself. Lyra's not gone. She's still watching over me. So I'll do what I know she would want me to do, and that is to stop those two." Jack slowly stood up and allowed the blanket to swiftly fall from his frame and unto the floor in a big mess. He lifted his staff up from the floor beside where he sat and watched as the area where his hand touched the wood caused his powers to react and covered the staff in a soft layer of frost. "Lance, you should return to the North Pole. I have something I need to do."

"Let me go with you then. It's not safe to go alone." Lance stood up to prepare to leave when he felt a cold hand gently squeeze his shoulder.

"I have to do this alone. Please, just let me be for a while." Lance turned and watched as Jack walked out of the room, before the familiar sound of a snow globe shatter filled the house. Lance hurried ran out of the room to try and catch the portal only to find it gone.

* * *

Jack reappeared in an area that was extremely familiar to him. The place where he desperately tried to toss his memories away after the Guardian's had thought he had betrayed them. The place where Pitch attacked him, and the place where he finally realized he was a Guardian.

He walked along the cool snow for a few moment before tugging his hoodie up over his head and tossing it to the side. The cold wind did not bother him one bit, but instead brought a sense of relief to his muscles as he looked up at the sky for a long moment.

"I love you Lyra. I don't think I ever got the chance to tell you that. So please, if you can hear me, know that I love you so much." He lift his staff up in front of himself and closed his eyes as tears began to finally fall down his cheeks-only to freeze as they dripped off.

"Please don't be gone, okay?"

* * *

Lance reappeared at the North Pole flipping through the pictures on Lyra's camera of her and Jack. He scowled softly and sat it down on a small table before looking up at the giant globe that the small lights were slowly beginning to disappear from.

"Cupid my friend! How is Jack?" Lance turned around to see North's eyes were a little puffy and his nosy sounding like it was running.

"Are you okay North?"

"Yes yes, just had something in eye for while. Any news?" Lance resisted the urge to point out that was a common excuse used for crying and instead turned to look at the globe before nodding softly.

"Jack had run off. He said he plans on fighting still, and I trust him, so I figured I'd leave him be for a while."

"Jack will come back. Always does. Give time, yes?"

"I'm not sure how much time we have. Pitch and Leon have Aria's powers, and ever since things have gone from bad to worse. Random tornadoes are appearing in places where they're not usually seen. Random wind gusts are causing car accidents and the like. What those two are doing it's throwing everything off balance. We need to get Aria's powers back and re-stabilize it as soon as possible."

"It is problem. Others will be back soon. Went home to check on things for a while. We will have to find their hideout. No more excuses." Lance nodded in agreement before sighing.

"Jack's not the only one who is hurt by her loss. I feel like she was the glue holding this operation together all this time. Now it feels so scattered an un-obtainable." North roughly patted Lance's back before nodding in agreement.

"You know the part that bothers me? What is my brother really after? What could he possibly want at this point? It doesn't make any sense!"

"That reminds me! Carol is coming home. Her contact, what was name….? Oh, no that wasn't it…. Hm…" Lance watched the man stand with his elbow in his hand, and his other hand against his chin as he contemplated the name of the person he was speaking about.

"Regardless, her contact?" Lance coaxed him to continue.

"Ah, she has idea what happened to Aria. Also idea as to what is going on! Could be very useful, yes?"

"Absolutely! When will Carol be home?" Lance couldn't wait to hear what information Carol had found. They were so far into a dead end that he was sure they were never going to figure anything out. However, if Carol had information that could help them, then maybe they really did have a chance after all.

Maybe Lyra really was looking after them.

"You know what I don't understand?" A sudden feminine voice with a bit of a Spanish accent echoed across them room to the two men. Both turned their heads in shock towards the voice to see Carol standing there smiling pleasantly and another short woman beside her. "What I don't understand is why none of you had the decency to question the very thing that started all of this. Why was this girl named Lyra able to hear Aria's cry, a mere mortal able to hear the cries of an immortal power, when she was never the intended target of such cries?"

Lance looked down at the short woman speaking to meet aquamarine eyes that shined brighter than the stone itself. Lance felt his breath hitch in his throat as he trailed her tanned features. Her strong chin to her deep blue hair that fell in two braids on each side of her head. A sense of familiarity filled his being as he looked over her facial features to the strange yellow rain coat and yellow rain boats she wore. In her hands was a pink with white bunny designs umbrella.

"You must be contact!" Carol laughed softly at her husband's inability to remember a name she told him, yet he was so proficient at remembering the names of the children in the world.

"Yes dear, this is Brenna Falls. I think she's going to be of great use to us to win this battle." The bluenette smiled brilliantly towards North before turning her attention towards Lance.

"Hello Cupid, it's been a long since we last met, hasn't it?" Lance swallowed loudly before nodding softly. He remembered her, but yet he couldn't remember her?

Who was she? And why was she so absolutely familiar?

"So, who is ready to be educated on what questions should one ask before blindly jumping into a game of hide and seek hm?"


	21. Chapter 21: Orbs And Balances

**I must say I really disliked the last chapter. I guess I was still under the influence of medicine when I made it, but I'm not going to take it down because I can build off of it. On that note, this chapter should be better(I'm hoping). Thank you to everyone for continuing(or just joining) to follow this story!**

* * *

Lance had struggled with himself for at least twenty minutes trying to remember why Brenna looked extremely familiar. Memory after memory he swam through desperately trying to find some sort of link to the girl so that he could grab onto it and pull himself to the area his mind desperately wanted to be. No matter what he did, however, he just couldn't seem to remember the blue haired woman.

Carol had decided to wait until the others arrived before Brenna was allowed to explain the information that she had figured out. Lance wasn't sure how she knew that Jack wouldn't be showing up, but when he tried to explain to the woman the boy's situation she didn't seemed shocked. A sad smile crossed her thin lips before she lightly patted him on the shoulder and nodded in understanding. Maybe it was Carol mother instinct that knew? That, or she and North had been through something similar in their past giving her all the knowledge she needed to know that Jack needed some time to himself.

Lance sighed heavily and leaned back in the kitchen chair he was currently located in while awaited the arrive of Bunnymund. Tooth had shown up about twenty minutes ago fluttering around in huge panic over the fact that Jack wouldn't be coming to the meeting. Sometimes Lance wondered if maybe Tooth had feelings for Jack, or if she was just an overly protective sister of some sort. Figuring out the Guardians was about as difficult as figuring out just how the hell he knew Brenna Falls.

He looked down into the dark liquid of warm hot chocolate sitting calmly in his cup before lifting it up and taking a small swig of the thick, creamy delicious drink. He sighed in content before placing his cup back down and glancing around at the nervous fidgeting of everyone around the table. North hated sitting still past ten minutes and he could tell the man was eager to run out of the room and occupy his hands with something else instead. North had just begun to stand up, confirming Lance's assumption, when a hole appeared in the floor and a familiar gray pooka appeared from the whole.

"Sorry, mate. What's up?" Lance smiled softly to the rabbit before turning his attention back to Brenna sitting down at the other end of the table. It was time for a explanation, and if she was able to provide them with that, then he was more than ready to get this done and over with.

"It's okay Bunny. I was just making some carrot flavored tea for you!" Carol walked over and sat a Christmas looking coffee mug down on that table as Bunny took and seat with a nod of thanks towards the woman.

"Now that we're all here, I'd like to say I was watching the news while Jack and I were…waiting on news on Lyra's where-abouts." It felt strange trying to say something about someone who should have been there with them. It was hard to accept that fact that Lyra really was gone, especially after how strongly Jack had felt she was still alive somewhere. He noticed a heavy tension of anxiety and depression fill the room before he continued the news he needed to get out to everyone. "The news is reporting that the coma "illness" that the children have been catching had suddenly started spreading to teenagers and adults alike. If these keeps up there won't be any left to save." Everyone around the table frowned deeply as they contemplated the new information.

"I think we shouldn't worry too much about that part just yet. The nightmares and comas are just distractions to occupy us from figuring out what Leon is really after. He told you himself that he was using Pitch as an oblivious pawn, am I correct?" Lance turned his attention to the blue haired girl to agree with her statement before Bunny beat him to the punch line.

"Who the heck are you?" Lance resisted the urge to allow his head to slam down onto the table below him. He expected such statements to come from Jack, but Bunny of all people? Maybe the reason the two of them fought so much was because they were unbearably alike!

"My Name is Brenna Falls. I guess you know me as the rain maker." Brenna smiled softly before looking back towards Lance. A spark of recognition hit him like a ton of bricks as he abruptly stood up causing his chair to screech on the wood floor loudly.

"The rain maker! Your-!"

"One of the four balances. In a sense I guess you could say I am Aria's older sister, and also the one who taught her to control her powers." Brenna smiled softly to Lance for finally catching on to who she was. "And the one who flooded your nice house the last time I was there because of your brother." A sorrowful look crossed the tanned woman's face as tears began to form in the corner of her eyes from such a memory. "Making fun of me because of my hair color…" Lance heard her whisper softly before a sudden moisture set in the room alerting to him to what was about to happen.

"Brenna you said that Leon was aiming for something else, why don't you tell us about that?" Carol's soothing voice cut catching Brenna's attention and allowing the room to return to a normal state. Lance felt himself sighing loud at Carol's quick save. If he remembered this girl correctly, then every time she was upset-which happened _a lot_-then the area she was in would be met with majority unexpected showers and downpour of rain. Brenna's powers were very linked with her emotions, and Lance was thankful that she had only flooded his house when Leon was being an ass to her so many years ago. Make Brenna angry and a wonderful thunderstorm was sure to find it's way towards you.

It also explained her strange sense in fashion. Something he was sure Carol had tried to change but failed miserably in doing so.

"Ah yes, back to the initial problem!" Lance noticed a strange look pass between Bunny and Tooth but figured it'd be best to explain to the two of them later. North was sitting at the end of the table an oblivious as ever.

"See, it is important to know that every immortal being that Man In Moon brings into existence is all for a purpose. He gives each and everyone of us a special task and reason for living. For instance, the Guardian's of Childhood, or the Guardian of Love. Each of you fight for the sole purpose of keeping something imperative for this world-_balance_. Aria and I also had a purpose. A purpose that Leon is currently trying to destroy."

"How does Leon know about this purpose? The only thing Aria ever told me was that she just could control wind. That she had to make sure the world functioned normal, but that was all. What more could you possibly have to do?" Lance felt a surge of jealousy shoot through his body at the thought of Leon knowing something that he didn't know. Especially about Aria.

"Hold yer horses there, mate, and let shelia explain." Lance sighed heavily but shut up none-the-less.

"There are four of us. We consider ourselves to be sisters. Wind, Earth, Water, and Fire. We are in charge of watching over something very detrimental to the life of this world. Each of us constantly power something called The Orb of Balance. With our four powers keeping this alive, the world runs as is should. There is a natural balance of the elements, and of the Earth itself. When one of us stops powering the orb then the world sees more storms and un-natural weather. When two of us stop powering the orb, then the whole world begin erupting into similar situations to what you see in the human's movies of 'doom's day'. Earthquakes, flood, tornados, ice ages, uncontrollable fires. Not just the normal ones the Earth experiences. It's at least doubled over."

"And if three stops power it?" Lance looked over to see a dark look coming from Jolly ol' Saint Nick. A sick feeling settled into his stomach as he waited for the answer from Brenna.

"I guess you could say the world will end as we know it. Then there would be no purpose for Immortals or Mortals alike. Though there has never been an incident where this has happened. Never has one of the main four been killed. The fact that Aria was taken from us was a large issue, indeed, but she did her research. There is a way for a Balance to keep the orb in check even if we die."

"To seal your powers into a orb just like Aria did." Tooth smiled proudly at the girl she had never actually met. After being with Lyra and Aria's orb all this time she felt like in a way she did know the girl.

"Exactly. It's a temporary seal that we can place ourselves in until a new host is found. However, there is a catch to using such a spell. Aria didn't die that night she was attacked. She died the night she sealed herself up."

"What are you saying? If Aria didn't die that night and was still alive for days later, why didn't she call for me for help? I could have saved her!" Lance gritted his teeth in irritation that Aria hadn't given him the chance to help her recover.

"The distance was probably too large for to contact anyone who could have helped her. At that point her powers became very weak, and I'll assume she needed much of her left over power to cast the sealing spell. Now, this is where we get to my early question. Why did none of you question the fact that Lyra could hear Aria's calls when Jack could not?" A sheepish look passed around the table as everyone realized they hadn't really asked that questions.

"Well….Uh…." Brenna smiled softly at their nervousness while Carol giggled softly.

"Regardless, the important part is that everyone realize it now. The reason why is because Lyra was the one who was _compatible_ with Aria's powers. Lyra was a possible candidate for Aria's new host!"

A large silence filled the room before everyone started shouting questions at Brenna.

"What do you mean she's compatible to be the host?" Lance managed to get out first before everyone followed suit.

"If she was compatible why didn't she become the new wind host?" Tooth was second in running.

"If we had known this sooner then maybe she wouldn't have…" Leave it to Bunny to kill the excited mood of the room.

"In order for someone compatible to become a new host several things must occur. The person themselves must consciously agree to take on the position. Man in Moon has to approve and watch over the changing of that person. More often than not, after both the person and Man on Moon agree to allow the switch, that person must die." Lance felt his heart skip a beat at the possibility that presented itself to them.

"So then…could she have become the host when she was thrown off the cliff?" He barely whispered the words, hating the way they felt coming from his mouth, but he had to know if it was possible. Was it possible that Lyra had actually taken the place of Aria in this world of Immortals?

"As much as I would like to say yes, you have to take into consideration what I just said. The person of compatibility had to be make the conscious decision to become the host. On top of that, Man in Moon must oversee and approve that person's changing. She wasn't aware she was compatible to make the decision, and the night that she was lost was-"

"The night of the New Moon. Manny couldn't have done it even if he did approve." Lance watched as Bunny slammed a paw onto the table and walked out of the room. Tooth looked towards the door worried for her friend before she followed after him. Lance ground his teeth before sighing in defeat.

"So she really is gone."

"Anything is possible in the world of magic, I suppose." Lance could tell Brenna was trying to make him feel better. He was thankful for the consideration of the rain maker, but the pain of losing his friend was strong and he was sure he wouldn't heal from just clinging to false hope.

"First Aria, then Lyra. What is Leon after." Anger started to nudge at his body as he turned his eyes to Brenna to see if she knew the reason for that as well.

"The only thing I can think is he is after the Orb. Aria sent me a letter before she was taken from us. She told me she had told him about it, and that she had broken the code and hoped that one day she could repent for ever telling someone about it. She didn't mention anything else, but there was one sentence on there I didn't quite understand."

"She told Leon?" Lance's anger was doubled over at the jealousy returning. He felt like a bi-polar person with the way his emotions kept jumping around.

"Anger overtakes, anger seeks, anger succeeds, anger wants nothing more than to sleep." Lance looked at Brenna like she was losing her mind. Her made her say the sentence one more time as he tried to process what it was that Aria had been talking about. Anger obviously meant Leon. He was the keeper of Anger after all.

"I just don't get it." Lance sighed before running his fingers through his hair. There had been more than enough information given to him today. It was a lot to take in, especially with what had just happened. Maybe once he settled down and thought over the statement a little more he could figure out what it meant.

"Overall, the only that I feel is certain is this: Leon is using Pitch as a distraction, and he is desperately trying to find that Orb." Brenna and Lance shared a long look as the facts settled in between them. A loud clapping brought both of their attention over to the large Russian who had been quiet up until this point.

"Then it is time to step up our mission as well. We must find there hideout. No exceptions." With that said, the bearded man stomped his way out the room and down the hall.

* * *

Leon was leaning against a wall in a small room watching a pocket watch he was swinging back and forth almost as if he was trying to hypnotize himself. He closed his eyes and tossed the watch up before catching it in his hand and squeezing it so hard the glass on the watch shattered. He opened his hand and allowed the pieces to fall to the ground with a soft thud before turning his attention to a small bed across the room. A soft, genuine smile crossed his lips before he walked over and patted the head of a small figure place on the bed wrapped in covered.

"Aria, my love. Hurry and gain your strength. We have bad people coming for us soon, and I want to make sure I can move you somewhere safe. I can't afford to lose you, so rest up okay?" The figure didn't move as Leon stood up straight causing a slight pop to come from his back. He walked to the door, sparing one more glace at the figure, before smiling and heading out the door.

"I love you Aria. Rest well." The door shut placing the room back in an abnormal darkness.

'_That's not my name._'

* * *

**I'm sure that some of this information was well wanted by you guys! I'm here to serve and I'm thankful to get a lot of the cards on the table finally. We won't be seeing Earth and Fire, just to let you know. Only Water and Wind are needed for this story thankfully, so no more characters unless some random people needed to be freaked out on the side of the streets. Probably another chapter(maybe two?) until Jack comes back. I'm excited for his return!**

**Also! FleetPoco made a new fanart! Just out her page to see it! Link is on my profile!**


	22. Chapter 22: Alive

"_Please. You have to save him! Please don't let him succumb to the terrors in his mind."_

"_Save…him?"_

* * *

It had been almost two weeks since Brenna brought the news of the Orb and what Leon's potential plans for the Earth really were. She had become their ally in their search to stop the man from achieving world destruction, claiming that the Orb was one hundred percent her responsibility, and therefore was assisting in the search for the hideout as well.

It has also been about two weeks since Lance started feeling really jittery when ever the blue haired girl was around. He, being the dense person he is when it comes to his own love, hadn't a clue what was wrong with him and deduced to him having worked too hard. Even with that thought he still continued to search day and night.

They had tried to contact Jack several times over the past few days to find out if he was safe and if he had any news. It was decided amongst everyone that Jack was not to find out that Lyra would have been a possible candidate for Aria's host. The possibility of 'what if' might have been the very thing that fully pushed the winter spirit over the edge. Jack was a part of their family which meant they had to protect him. Even if it was from himself.

Lance sighed heavily as he jumped from a branch in a tall tree to land gracefully on his feet on the ground. He had given up trying to fly with the way the wind was acting up. He had tried flying for the first two days of searching only to end up with more cuts and bruises than any immortal should ever experience. Tooth wasn't having any luck with flying either. This in turn made for a very happy North as he began to mass produce his 'snow globe balls'. Or so North dubbed their name.

Bunny wasn't suffering too much from the uncontrollable wind, and he was pretty darn proud of that fact. Something that made both Lance and Tooth a little bitter towards the pooka.

Lance stretched his arms up above his head, his white jacket lifting ever so slightly to expose his lower stomach, and yawned loudly. He had been in this forest for hours without any luck. It was a tiring thing to just constantly search areas for something you weren't even aware of. Were they underground? A tree house? Maybe some random trailer somewhere? Underground seemed to be more of Pitch's style, but he had a feeling Pitch was avoiding that type of hideout like the plague. Who wants to have a cool, secret hiding spot in a place where your enemies trapped you last? Yeah, didn't seem likely.

Lance started to explore more of the forest when the Northern lights caught in his peripheral vision. He looked up and chuckled to himself before pulling out a snow globe ball.

"It's about time I got to leave this place. I feel like I'm going crazy." He lifted the small, glass orb up to his lips and whispered his destination before tossing it on the ground and shattering it. He quickly hopped into the magical portal and found himself standing in the globe room of the North Pole with the rest of his team appearing from all different directions.

"What's the word boss?" Lance crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against a nearby wall. He closed his eyes to rest for a moment seeing as he hadn't really been sleeping. He felt a brush against his arm and looked down beside him to see Brenna leaning on the wall next to him. He swallowed loudly before turning his attention back to North.

"We have found it." North proclaimed barely able to hide the excitement in his voice.

"We've done what now?" Lance asked to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. They had really found it? If it was in a place that should have been obvious he was going to be ticked off royally.

"We've found hideout! It is in abandoned castle in Transylvania, Romania. It was tricky to find, yes, but we have done it!" North started laughing that jolly laugh of his before clapping in excitement. He seemed almost like a little kid who had gotten what they wanted for Christmas. It made sense, in a way.

"Yup, in a place that should have been obvious. Figures the evil doers would hide in the place of Dracula." Lance sighed in irritation for having not search that place first.

"Is it really so obvious? If you use reverse psychology then perhaps they thought you wouldn't look there because it is a place of evil? Too obvious that they stayed hidden." Brenna smiled proudly for causing Lance more irritation. He gave a nonchalant shrug before waving it off.

"What do we know about the place?"

"Looks like he's got some nightmares patrolin' the parameter. Nothin' more. I didn't try to find out much other than that. With everyone fallin' into coma's, our powers aren't exactly the greatest at the moment." Bunny grumbled something about shrinking under his breath.

"On that note, what is our coma toll at these days?" Brenna chipped in to cease the rabbit's depressing thoughts of becoming a cute bunny again.

"Almost half of the children's lights have died out on the globe. There's no telling how many adults have fallen victim." Carol supplied sadly causing Brenna to frown.

"Pitch might be just a distraction, but at this rate he's becoming a huge problem. If this continues…"

"Everyone but Brenna and I will lose their powers." Lance finished for the woman standing beside him. An aura of worry and fear settled across the room. They had lost their powers and practically lost to Pitch once. Would they really be able to fight this battle in those circumstances?

"We're not out of game yet! Jack! Jack can fight without the belief of the children!" North smiled proudly, like a father talking about his son, before wrapping his arm around his wife's shoulders. She smiled fondly at the large Russian man.

"Except for one important problem here… We can't find Jack." Everyone frowned at Tooth's statement before Lance huffed and tossed his hands into the air.

"I'm going to get some sleep. I assume we'll be attacking tonight?" Lance looked to North to confirm his theory of an attack plan. North nodded and smiled at the blonde man.

"Why tonight? Aren't they stronger at night?"

"It's not a matter if them being stronger. It's a matter of we might get lucky and one of them might not be home when we come knocking. Pitch will most likely be out to cause more comatose victims. That gives us time to take one of them out, and set up a welcome home gift for the other one." Bunny smirked, satisfied with the answer, before tapping his foot on the ground and causing a giant hole to appear.

"We'll meet against at Dusk."

* * *

"Wow, this place is super creepy at night." Lance looked at the majestic, half broken castle that lay before him surrounded by a think cloud of fog. There was an eerie silence that echoed through the area around them. Lance could almost hear Lyra complaining about how this place was an accident waiting to happen. A small smile grazed his lips at the thought of his quirky friend.

"I think the more important problem to worry about here is why Carol made us wear these blasted outfits." Lance raised an eyebrow at Bunny decked out in a tight fitting, solid black outfit. Carol had forced all of them into similar outfits claiming something about you can't go on top secret missions without top secret clothes. Lance had learned that sometimes it was just best to please the clothes-obsessed woman and move on. Bunny, however, had thrown such a fit it was amazing they ever got to leave the Pole.

North looked amusing in it, that was a bonus.

"I feel like a ninja!" Of course Brenna would be super excited about this. She also seemed to have an obsession with cute clothes. Probably how Carol and Brenna met in the first place. He watched her dance around pretending to do 'ninja' moves before grabbing her by the back of her shirt and lifting her up before she killed her self fighting with thin air.

"Come on ninja girl. Got work to do." Brenna scowled at the Guardian of Love as he carried her forward towards the castle.

"I can walk you know." Brenna glared sharply at the man holding her in the air and crossed her arms over her chest. Lance chuckled before softly dropping her back to her feet and moving on ahead of her.

"Just don't fall up anymore stairs like you did this morning, deal?"

"I should trip you." Lance smirked before turning to walk backwards so he could see her expression.

"If I'm going to trip, it will be because of your beauty, nothing more." Lance winked, going into that flirtatious side he loved to tease people with, and laughed softly when she started blushing and stuttering. "Oh man, you and Lyra are so much alike."

"Hush you two, it's time."

* * *

"_You need to wake up."_

"_Huh…? Who…?"_

"_You need to wake up! If you don't wake up you'll lose your chance!"_

"_Oh, it's you again. I am awake, aren't I?"_

"_Silly girl, you can only talk to me when you're asleep. Now please, wake up."_

"_Will you be here when I go back to sleep, Manny?"_

"_Of course, now go…we're on a strict time line here. Go my little song."_

A soft chuckled escaped Leon's lips from his position against the wall near a small window that was allowing a small amount of moonlight to filter into the room. He glanced over to the sleeping figure across the room before smiling to himself.

"Rest well Aria. I will go take care of the visitors who think they're able to blend with the night." Leon stood up straight and slowly exited the room; the door closing with a soft 'click'. The figured on the bed slowly opened it's eyes to reveal one gray eye and one green eye. The figure sat up slowly and glared darkly at the door across the room.

'_What part of that's not my name do you not get? My name is-"_ A loud explosion echoed through the halls of the broken castle causing the girl to tense up in surprise. She tossed the covers off of herself and slowly placed her bare feet on the cold stone floor. She tried to stand up only to find that her body was extremely weak. Her legs were shaking and the moment she stood up straight she felt the world start to tilt and turn as a dizzy spell hit her. She fell sideways into the wall and used that as a way of holding herself steady. She placed a hand against her forehead trying to push the dizziness from her mind before another explosion sounded off. This one much closer than the first explosion.

She started to take baby steps; each step her energy feeling more drained than the next. She finally reached the door and grab the door handle before her legs left from under her and she tumbled down to her knees with a painful thump. She tried to say 'ow' out of habit from being hurt before, only to realize no noise left her throat. She tried speaking once more to notice that no matter what she said she didn't seem to have a voice. Her gaze rose to where her left hand rested against the door knob. The small drizzle of moonlight that shone from the window reflected off the door and door knob, but to the girl's horror her hand was no where to be found. She could feel everything just fine, as she found out by gently tracing her left hand down the surface of the door, and she could see from her wrist up to the beginning on her elbow was there. Her left hand and upper arm were invisible; as if they were not there. She could feel herself able to move those areas, and after reaching up with her right hand-which seemed to be missing a pinky finger that she could feel-she could grasp the area as if it were still there. She pinched the skin of her upper arm to see she could feel pain.

She was just a half invisible person. It made her almost afraid to know what else was invisible at the moment.

Another loud 'boom' knocked her out of her stupor over his invisibility problems and she gripped the door knob once again to pull herself into a standing position. She was wearing a thin, silk nightgown that went down to her mid-thigh. She could feel the chill that was in the air, yet she herself did not feel cold. She pushed the thoughts all to the side and pulled the door open with as much strength as she could manage. She cautiously stepped through the door and out into a half destroyed hallway. The moon was shining brightly in patches down the hall as if guiding her in the direction she needed to go. She began walking, her fatigue starting to capture her body the more she walked, until she found a door at the end of the hall.

She pushed the door open to be met with the warmth of blazing fires burning around a group of people facing off against the one who she had awoken too.

"Don't you think it's a bit foolish to come and destroy someone's home in the middle of the night? Rude, on top of that. Uninvited guests should be executed." Leon smirked as he tossed his staff to penetrate through Bunny's body. The giant rabbit dodged the staff without so much as a blink; allowing for it to shoot past him and towards the girl who had just entered the room.

Leon's eyes widened in shock as he realized too late what was about to happen. "Aria!" He cried out willing to girl to somehow move out of the way. The Guardians all turned in shock at Leon's outburst, but that was nothing compared to the shock that filled their bodies at the sight behind them.

"Lyra!" Lance cried out as he tried to run and move her from the attack that was coming straight for her.

'_My name…'_

Lyra smiled happily as her eyes closed and her body started to succumb to the darkness she welcomed as sleep. She fell to the ground just seconds before the staff pierced the door she stood in front of. Lance knelt down beside the frail girl and lifted her head to rest in his lap.

"It's can't be. Lyra, you're here. You're really here!" Lance looked her over, a sick feeling filling his stomach as he took in just how damaged her body currently was.

"Get your hands off of her!" Leon practically screamed at his brother from across the room. A dark aura filled the room and the fire's that were fierce moments before grew to an extreme that made it hard to breathe. Lance's wings appeared on his back as he lifted the small girl into his arms. He allowed them to wrap around his body in the form of a shield as he glared darkly at his brother.

"You will not take Lyra from us. Not again."

"Aria belongs with me! She's not well, leave her be! I have to let her rest!" Lance narrowed his eyes at his brother.

"You're the reason Aria ended up like this." The words were as sharp as a knife as Leon stared at his brother. His eyes flickered a beautiful, forest green before they turn redder than Lance had ever seen them before.

Leon screamed out in anger an the whole room began to collapse around them from the overwhelming amount of energy released.

"We must get out!" North called over the loud sounds of walls collapsing. The Guardians all started running in the direction that they had entered-which thankfully hadn't been consumed by fire. Everyone formed a circle around Lance as a sort of barrier to keep Lyra safe with the blonde man. None of them could take the time to express how excited and relieved they were to see their friend alive as wave after wave of gray matter started flying at them.

"Lance! You have to get her out of here! We'll hold Leon off." Bunny called out from his position behind Lance. The Guardian of Love agreed with him, but where could he take her that would be safe?

"You can take her to the North Pole, Lance." Lance looked beside him to Brenna running along side him.

"Are you kidding me? That's the most obvious place to go!"

"No! Pitch and Leon can't get to the Pole anymore. I spent all week charming and putting barriers up that there's no way they can get in! It's the safest place to take her!" Lance knew he liked Brenna for something.

The group got outside of the castle just moments before half of what had remained of the castle collapsed to the ground in a huge pile of rubble. In the center Leon floated, his eyes a pure red, and a tornado of gray energy surrounding his body. He made a growl type noise before another staff appeared in his hand.

"I will kill each and every one of you! Give. Her. Back!" He charged at the group, swing his staff down in front of him prepared to use the tornado of his energy to send everyone flying. Before his staff could make a full swing down, however, a weapon covered in a thick layer of frost stopped it's movement.

A cold blast of air filled the area as a frosty swirl of power fought against Leon's tornado of power.

"My my, how happy I am to see you Leon." A very familiar voice spoke causing Lance to grip Lyra tighter behind the shield of his wings. Leon's eyes narrowed as he jumped back and held his staff in front of himself defensively.

"You know, you wouldn't believe how I have anticipated this fight Leon." Lance admired how the Sheppard hook staff was completely covered in frost as compared to how it normally looked when the winter spirit held it. The area around him was covered in ice, his power practically oozing from his body and turning everything around him into a winter wonderland.

He was much stronger in this moment then Lance had ever seen him. He could feel the power coming from the boy in front of him facing off against his brother.

"Come back to fight me again, Jack? I've told you, so long as you harbor anger towards me you will never defeat me."

"Oh? No worries there. I'm not going to fight you in anger." A dangerous smirk crossed Jack's thin lips as a cold wind began to circle around Jack's body once more.

"No, because this fight is being fueled by how much **fun** it's going to be to destroy you."

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**Author's Note: Hope you guys enjoy! Thanks for all the reviews and follows/favorites! We're almost at 200 reviews I can't believe it! You guys are amazing!**


	23. Chapter 23: Dedication

**It has come to my attention that I haven't mentioned Sandy in a while. I have corrected the fact he has been missing in this chapter. It was unintentional, but always good for adding more to the story I suppose!**

* * *

A tense aura settled across the yard as Jack and Leon stared off. Both of their powers were fluctuating in various waves and pushing against each other in an intimidation battle fit for the Gods. Neither spoke, nor did they even move, but the overbearing amount of raw energy circulating the area was enough to cause the Guardian's some difficulty in breathing.

Lance stared in awe at the two men before him. He had known for years the strength that his brother was capable of, but for the very first time he was seeing why all the Guardians had so much faith in Jack Frost. From the way his staff was absolutely beautiful with it's thick layer of frost, to the way the ground beneath his feet froze in intricate swirl designs around his feet, to the snow that was circling around his body in a protective shield. He had never seen Jack portray such raw power, and seeing it first hand was the only way he would ever believe such a boy was capable of such a thing.

Lance's breath hitched when Jack's staff started forming ice along the hook at the end. It formed into a long, scythe that Lance knew was more than sharp enough to slice through things at will. Leon smirked darkly and glanced over at Lance to check on Lyra. Lance clutched the girl tighter to his chest, tightening his wings around their bodies, and resisted the urge to smile when Brenna stepped in front of him defensively.

"Don't worry water girl. You'll be my next target." Brenna gasped softly before she stood her ground; a defiant glare sent in Leon's direction.

"You will be stopped before that moment comes."

"You're opponent is me." Jack voice was low and deliberate, and before Lance could fully predict what was going to happen both men disappeared from in front of him. He heard a loud clang above them to see their blade's meeting mid-air. The fight began and Lance turned his attention from the two for a moment to look to his fellow comrades.

"I have no desire to leave him to fight alone, but we need to get her out of here. One of you should take her and get her to the Pole. I'll help Jack if I can."

"Here, I'll take her." Lance turned to face Tooth smiling at him with her arms already spread out to take the girl. He smiled softly to the feathered woman before softly shaking his head.

"Will you be able to carry her? You're both practically the same size." Tooth frowned at him before huffing and placing a hand on her hip.

"Seriously? Did you just ask me that?"

"Uh, mates, we might not have time for an escape plan." Bunny's toss of one of his boomerangs brought their attention to something that desperately needed it. In the middle of their talking they had become surrounded by a mini army of nightmares. There were new shapes appearing among the usual super-nightmares. Bird like creatures that resembled Phoenixes. Giant spiders that looked like they jumped out of the movie Eight Legged Freaks and forgot their way back home. There was also an unusual nightmare that seemed to be ever changing in shape. The best way to describe it would be a blob nightmare, because it looked like a giant black spot when it wasn't fighting with itself on what shape it wanted to be.

Everyone formed around Lance in a circle once more before charging and starting to fight off the creatures that threatened them. Lance watched and waited for an opportunity to run to safety, and the moment North cut an opening for him he bolted from the Nightmares. His only thought was to get Lyra to safety. He couldn't allow Leon to keep Lyra, especially in the state she was in, or there was no telling what could not only happen to her physically but mentally as well. Who is to say they didn't take advantage of her state and brainwash her to turn against them? Why was Leon so bent on the fact that Lyra was actually Aria anyway? Was his brother so driven by his desire to have Aria back that he was willing to overlook the different in bodies so long as a part of Aria lived on?

Did that mean that Lyra now hosted Aria?

Lance yelped in shock as something heavy jumped on his back and sent him skidding on the ground face first. He tried to turn his body to prevent him from fully landing on Lyra in his arms, but failed in doing so as the nightmare that had jumped him clung desperately to him. Lance swung his elbow back to knock the creature off of him, but instead just managed to make it mad. The nightmare flipped Lance over to reveal it was one of those horrifying spiders. It's pulled back, ready to bite down on his face, before a golden strand of sand in the form of a whip flew above them and yanked the creature off of Lance. It was tossed into the ground where it shattered into the dark sand it was made out of. Lance sat up and look behind him to thank the man of dreams, only to be met with a very mad Sandy.

"What's wrong Sandy?" Steam like sand left the short man's ears as he stomped his foot and balled his hands into fists. Millions of images started flying over his head-along with several exclamation points-resulting in Lance frowning in confusion at the un-successful conversation.

"Now that I think about it… Are you just now getting here? We completely forgot to tell you we were coming here! Did Carol tell you where we were?" The glare the short man gave was enough to wilt flowers. Just as Sandy was about to begin another 'rant', a figure slammed into a tree beside them with a loud thud. Leon fell to the ground, leaving behind a large sized body print in the tree, and used his staff to keep him in an upright position. Jack walked towards them and stopped. He had a deep cut across his right cheek, his sweatshirt looked like it was eaten by a washer, but he looked ready to kill.

Sandy looked at Jack with a worried expression before turning to face Lance. Lance understood exactly what his concern was for.

Jack was most definitely not in the right state of mind, and was clearly out for blood.

* * *

"Lyra."

"Huh? Who is it?"

"Lyra, it's me." Lyra looked around and sat up to find herself in an area that wasn't really an area. There was smoke and fog every where giving her the sense of floating inside of a cloud. She looked beside her to see a small girl smiling at her softly. Her off white hair and gray eyes with her childlike features brought a sense of familiarity and safety. Lyra smiled softly to the girl before taking in her surroundings again.

"This is different. I'm not used to a world like this. Where are we Aria?"

"This is the place I created so that you and I can talk. It was so difficult to talk to you before, but now it should be easier. At least until you are healed." Lyra nodded in understanding before clasping her hands together in her lap and looking at them sadly.

"Leon isn't at all like you're memories showed me. He seemed to be someone completely different. What exactly should I do to help him?" Aria smiled sadly as she laid back into the fog, though she was still visible, and stared at the sky-less sky.

"I need you to save him. The only help I can give you is what I told you. _Aeterna Somnum. _It's the only way to heal him. It's too early for that, however, you're not nearly strong enough to do that. You need to rest and allow Manny to continue helping you."

"_Aeterna Somnum. _It's so strange, just moments ago I was unable to speak but I seem to be able to talk just fine here." Lyra lifted up her hands to look at them and see they were in perfect shape. No invisibility problems in this world.

"My world is a little different. This is the world inside of your dreams. Inside of you. It's different than when you're awake or with Manny. Here, you can be whole."

"So you said I should find Lance and he could help me? How can I find him?" Lyra sighed softly as she closed her eyes and skipped around in Aria's memories of what Lance looked like. Aria smiled and sat up. She patted Lyra on the hands softly before full on grinning to the girl.

"You're with Lance right now. He's trying to get you away from Leon and to a safer place to rest." A sorrowful look crossed the pale girl's face as she drew her hands away. "That being said, I have to force you to go back now." Lyra frowned at the sudden desire to send her away. Normally, everyone was demanding she stay asleep, but now this was the second time she was going to be forced to wake up.

"Why? Isn't resting what will heal me?"

"Resting will assist in healing you, but you will not get well on rest alone. For now I need you to wake up. You need to save Leon, but for once it's not from himself. If you don't go back Leon will be killed before we have a chance to save him properly. Leon is strong, but _he_ is under the influence of grief."

"He?"

"Just please Lyra, save him. Please wake up."

"You guys ask that like this is easy for me." Lyra frowned at the girl before smiling reassuringly and ruffling her hair. "I'll do my best. Will I see you again?"

"No….Yes….Only time will tell." Lyra nodded in understanding before laying back into the cloud like smoke and closing her eyes. She focused as hard as she could to push her mind back to the real world.

* * *

Lance was doing everything in his power to keep not only himself, but Lyra as well, away from the ferocious attacks that Jack was throwing out left and right. The boy was being mindful of his companions, yes, Lance just happened to continuously be in the wrong spot at the wrong time. The entire yard outside of the broken castle was completely covered in ice and holes from the two participants of the battle. Nightmare sand was covering the ground, but that didn't seem to decrease the amount of nightmares that seemed to be appearing left and right. Lance almost wondered if Pitch was somewhere nearby without them knowing it. That or this place had some serious alarm system.

Lance felt the girl in his arms begin to stir and he opened his wings to glance at her. Brenna and Sandy came to his side in time to block an attack focused at him. He, however, was to interested in the green/gray eyed girl that was looking up at him in wonder.

"Lyra. You're alive." Lance smiled softly as a look of confusion crossed Lyra's face. She felt so weak when she came to this world, and it was taking a moment for a mind to catch up with her body. She heard the sounds of a battle outside of the strange shell she was encompassed in. Was Leon fighting? She had to stop him from fighting.

She looked back up at Lance and started to talk to the man only to remember she currently had no voice. She watched as recognition crossed Lance's face before a sad smile graced his lips.

"We'll figure out how to fix you soon okay? Right now, I have to get you home." Lyra nodded softly before wiggling around and pushing his wings away so she could see what was going on. She was shocked to see that the area around them was completely destroyed. A true battle ground indeed.

"Oh Lyra!" Tooth flew beside Lance and smiled at the girl happily. She was so glad to see that Lyra was awake and alive she couldn't contain it any longer. A nightmare attempted to sneak up behind her, to which Tooth just kept smiling and threw her hand back to punch the creature over her shoulder without so much as a blink. Lance chuckled softly while Lyra looked at Tooth skeptically.

Her memories were going to be messed up. Manny had told her that many times before she had woken up for the first time. She was going to be the first immortal to remember spending time with him, but her memories from before were going to be broken. He was desperately trying to piece them together, piece her together, but until then she would have to remember on her own. As she looked at the colorful feathers of the Tooth Fairy she felt a sharp nagging at the back of her mind telling her she remembered this woman.

'_Tooth. Of course I remember her. She was so excited to have another girl join the group.'_

A loud crash pulled Lyra back to the reason she had woken up in the first place as she saw Leon down on his knees trying to push himself up with his staff. A figure stood over him, though they looked unsteady on their own feet, and it cause a flash back to occur in Lyra's mind of what Aria had said.

_You need to save Leon, but for once it's not from himself. If you don't go back Leon will be killed before we have a chance to save him properly. Leon is strong, but __**he**__ is under the influence of grief._

Lyra pushed out of Lance's arms as Jack lifted his staff into the air, the end of it becoming sharp with a particle of ice into the same shape as Leon's spear. Lance yelled out in shock as the girl forced herself up onto her feet and took off running towards the two men.

Just as Jack was about to thrust his staff at the enemy before him, Lyra managed to jump in between them. She spread her arms out beside her, facing Jack, in a defensive stance in front of Leon. Leon looked at her in shock, the Guardian's all rushing to move the girl away from the dangerous battle, while Jack froze mid-action.

Jack's eyes widened in pure shock as he stared at the half broken girl standing before him. His staff lost all of the frost from it's wooden curves and tumbled from his hand onto the ground below him. Lyra stood there, watching him carefully and desperately trying to stay awake and breathing steady. Her energy was practically spent from running that short distance and she knew she was going to collapse again.

Lyra reached up and gripped the locket that hung from her invisible neck that had been saved with her on the day she woke up to Manny. She gripped it tightly as she watched the boy before her raise shaking hands and gently touch her arms. She felt her body jerk in recognition of his touch, but something was troubling her greatly.

The locket and the touch were familiar. The face and the outfit like a distant memory. However, she couldn't seem to find any of her memories of him. The ones she felt like involved him seemed blurry, like there was something in the picture she wasn't allowed to see so it was being blocked from her mind. She felt sick to her stomach and fear build up inside of her at the fact she couldn't remember him properly.

He was someone important. He was someone she should have known before everyone else. She could feel in every ounce of her being he was. Why couldn't she remember? Who was he? What was his name?

"Lyra…" His voice softly cried out breaking down the pain that was building up inside of Lyra and causing tears to fall from her eyes. The way he said her name she could tell. He was important, and she went and forgot about him.

"Oh Lyra!" Lyra gasped in shock as the winter spirit pulled her into his arms and practically wrapped his body around her. His body shook as violent sobs broke him down. Lyra allowed the boy to hold her as her exhaustion caught up with her and she felt herself plunge back into the darkness of sleep. If she couldn't remember him, then maybe sleeping would allow her a chance to find out before she came back.

Focusing so much on trying to remember Jack, Lyra completely forgot she was supposed to be saving Leon from him. Aria didn't seem to mind her going back to sleep, because she wasn't heard from again.

* * *

**This chapter was really hard for me to write. I'm sorry it if seems forced, but given the circumstances I think it's acceptable.**

**I want to dedicate this chapter to my Uncle. He was living with us, and yesterday April 2, my mother found him deceased sitting in his bed watching TV. She came to wake me up, unable to breath, and for the rest of the day I was stuck with Police, crying family, and pain at the fact that my crazy Uncle had not only left us, but left us in my home. I still feel like my house is too quiet, and I figured writing this chapter would get my mind off of things. I will be gone for a couple of days for the funeral and stuff, but just know that I will be back to finish writing this. **

**I just wanted to send a shout out to my Uncle, and hope that he's enjoying a cold beer where ever he has gone to be.**

**Thank you all for being such wonderful readers. I'm not the best writer, I'm aware, but I am trying to improve. I desperately want to write my own novel one day, and I feel that this is good practice for achieving that goal. I know I need to start proof reading(something I shall try to do…starting on the next chapter xD) but I want everyone to know that I appreciate you. We do not know each other personally, but you are dear to me. Remember to hug your families today and never take anything for granted. You can't believe how surreal it is to have someone here one day, and then the next them be gone. I still feel like he should be stomping around the house causing trouble, but instead I am met only with silence. It is heartbreaking and I wish I had been given one more chance to show him he was cared for(even though he made me angry more often than not -_- )**

**Sincerely,**

**F.W.**


	24. Chapter 24: You're Welcome

"Welcome back."

Lyra frowned deeply at the familiar yet distant voice that seemed to echo through the room around her. She slowly blinked her mismatched eyes open to glance around for the owner of the voice. She was lying on a sofa, a cream color, in a living room of sorts. There were several recliner chairs around the room, the same color as the sofa, and the carpet was a plush white that looked as if it had never been walked on. There was a small fire place to the left of the sofa with a small flame burning inside. There were several decorations of crescent moons along the white walls along with a small mirror hanging over the fire place.

In all honesty, the place was lacking some serious color to it.

Lyra sighed softly noticing that there was no one else in the room with her. She sat up slowly, and felt a jolt of shock flow through her body when she looked down at her hands and legs. Her hands and arms were the way she saw them inside the castle before chasing after Leon. In addition to the invisibility on her arms, her entire left leg didn't seem to even exist. She focused on moving the limb and could feel that it was there. She gently rubbed the area that she felt her leg should be and met the solid form of her leg. She was invisible, but she was still there. That was all that matter. She stood up on shaking legs and decided it would be best to check the rest of her body. She glanced around the room once more to make sure it was empty before pulling the small, silk gown over her head and assessing her body. The was a large triangle shape that was missing in the middle of her stomach. She poked where her belly button should have been and smiled when she still felt it. It was a weird sensation to not see something, but to still be able to control and touch it as well.

She made her way over to the small mirror above the fire place to make sure her head was still intact. Lyra stared at the image that played back to her in shock as she saw just how different she really was. Her eyes were different colors, the left one gray and the right one green. Her hair was a white blonde; not the usual honey color it used to be. It wasn't pure white like she remembered that one boy's hair being, but it was still really light for a blonde color. It made her feel a little uncomfortable in her body now that it was so different. The upside was her head was completely there. The down side, her neck and all of her right shoulder were currently missing as well. She gently reached up and placed a hand on her throat to try and push the knot that was building in it away.

Tears started to slowly pour from her eyes as she realized just how wrong she looked. She didn't remember looking like this at all. She felt like she wasn't herself, and it was unnerving.

"It's why you can't talk." Lyra whipped around quickly to see a small boy standing in front of a door that lead to another room. He appeared to be about fourteen years old. His hair was similar in color to her own and in a style that reminded her of a Justin Bieber hair flip. He was as skinny as a twig and wearing cream colored clothes that resembled something the Pope would wear. His eyes, however, where the most stunning attribute he possessed. They were a deep violet that held a bit of a cold edge to them. Underneath that cold edge Lyra could see the kindness that radiated from this boy.

"_Manny_." Lyra smiled happily before he coughed, turned his head away, and pointed down at her nightgown discarded on the floor. She blushed softly before snatching it up and pulling it back on.

"I'm sorry about how you look right now. I don't have the strength to fix you completely. I can hear you through your thoughts if you need to talk to me, however." He walked over to the sofa and sat down before lightly patting the seat beside him. Lyra obliged his request and settled down beside him on the sofa. She stared at the small flame in the fire place for a moment before turning her attention to Manny.

"_I didn't expect to be back here so soon.."_ Manny gave her an adorable grin before leaning back into his seat. He turned his body so his back was resting on the arm rest then propped his feet up on Lyra's lap. Lyra said nothing at his actions and awaited him to start speaking.

"Eh, I got bored. No, not really. I figured we should talk and try to sort out your mind a little before I send you back. I need you to be in decent mindset if we're going to get everything that has happened under any control." Lyra nodded in understanding before frowning softly.

"_Manny, I thought you were an old man. I remember seeing you as an older gentleman the first time I was brought here."_ The small boy beside her started laughing hysterically before nodding in agreement.

"You would be correct. I can change my appearance. I honestly prefer this form. If I'm going to be a protector of children then I should try to be as close to the things I protect."

"_Things? Children aren't things…_"

"No, wait, that came out wrong. I protect literal children, yes, but I also protect inner children. Inside of every human is an inner child. I try to keep that part of all humans safe, regardless of age." Lyra couldn't help but feel adoration for the boy sitting beside her. She looked around the room once more and noted how many chairs he had. She remember him once telling her he enjoyed the company because he was the only person here. It made her wonder why he bothered with so much furniture for being the only person around. To think, here he was the loneliest of everyone, yet the most protective of the others around him.

"_Alright boss. I'm guessing you have a whole speech set up for me?_" The cheesy grin she received told her all she needed to know.

"First off let me start by saying I'm sorry this is how things have turned out. I should also tell you that I never planned on you being the new Wind host." Manny frowned and looked away as Lyra stared down at her feet.

"_So I really was meant to stay dead then?_"

"Not exactly. I had planned on using you for something different entirely, actually. It's unfortunate, but if it hadn't been for Aria's own power then you would have been lost even to me. For that, I am thankful that she chose you."

"_How was I changed? I thought what's his face took Aria away. At least, that's what she implied when she brought me here._" Lyra thought back to the night of her 'rebirth'. She couldn't remember what had caused it, at least not until recently, but she had been in so much pain she knew something had happened to her. Before she knew it, a warm glowing light surrounded her and she was being carried by a small girl. She heard Aria whisper several things along the lines of 'thank goodness', but she couldn't remember most of the conversation she had with her that night. Next thing she knew she was waking up in this room with an older version of Manny hovering over her. It was a dramatic change of scenery, but thankfully the pain had ceased for the time being.

"Aria was pulled from the jar you housed her in by Pitch, which is his name by the way." A small smile passed between them before Manny continued. "Before he could leave with her, however, she woke up and flew from his hand and out after you. He followed after her, and that was how he was able to get your physical form to Leon. It's how they ended up with you in the first place." Lyra thought back on the damp, half-broken castle and made a face.

"_They need better hiding places._" Manny chuckled and nodded in agreement.

"It's going to take me some time to heal you. Like I said, you were saved and reborn because Aria implanted her powers into your soul. I had no way to save you that night. I also ended up using all of my strength to help the fight and to stabilize you with Aria's powers. I did the best I could with was little power she had left, but doing so put me into a state of exhaustion. It will be some time before I regain that strength to fix you. Until then, please, just bare with me." Lyra waved the comment off and grinned to him. "Thank you." He acknowledged her nonchalant attitude about the situation and sighed in relief. He had expected her to hate him for not being able to do what he had done for his other children.

"You're special compared to the others, Lyra." Lyra blinked up at him and tilted her head to the side in curiosity. "You'll be the only one of my children to remember being here with me during your rebirth. For their protection, and my own, I always steal the memory of coming here from each one of them before they are sent to their new bodies. You, will be the first person I will trust with my safety." Lyra smiled to herself before rolling her eyes.

"_Don't play around. The reality is you don't have the strength to take my memories. You can barely put them together, let alone take any of them._" Manny started laughing before dropping his legs off of her lap and standing up to stretch.

"Yeah, you're probably right. Regardless, I love having you around. Maybe I should allow a person here or there to remember me so I might have some company every now and then."

"_You know I don't mind being here with you Manny. You're more than welcome to bring me here any time. Even after I am healed. Or, if you want, you could just keep me here._" Manny shook his head side to side as he made his way over to the fire place. Another piece of wood appeared out of thin air before he tossed it into the flames.

"Jack wouldn't like me very much if I did that. He needs you more than I do." Lyra felt her body tense up at the name before staring at the small boy with fear in her eyes.

"_That's him. His name's Jack. Manny, I can't remember him. I feel it inside of me, he's important, but I can't remember why. What am I supposed to do?_" Lyra clasped her hands together in her lap and starting wringing them nervously. Manny walked over, getting down on one knee, and took her hands into his own. He smiled softly to her, a look of guilt shining from his violet eyes, before giving her the only words of advice he could give.

"You're memories will come to you slowly. I work each day on them to try and give you small pieces of yourself back. However, until then I'm sure everyone will understand. They're just glad you're back home. Jack, most definitely, will do everything in his power to care for you. Regardless if you remember him or not. You're a very important person to him. Always remember that."

"_Is he…?_"

"In love with you?" Lyra nodded; her bangs covering her eyes as she lowered her head from the boy in front of her. How could she forget someone that loved her? The way he looked at her in that moment when she protected Leon. She didn't just see his emotions jumping around; she could practically feel them.

"He is."

"_And did I?_" Manny gave her a knowing smile before reaching up and moving her bangs out of her face.

"Well, I guess you'll just have to spend time with him to find out, don't you think?" Manny placed his hand over her eyes to block her view of the room, and before Lyra could properly say good bye she was falling into the familiar darkness that would lead her to her body.

"See you next time you go to sleep, my little song."

* * *

"Any luck of figuring out what is going on with her?" Lyra recognized Lance's voice immediately. She could hear movement around her, and she noticed that the area she was lying on was much more comfortable than her old bed in Leon's castle. She felt very warm, a welcoming feeling, except for her right hand which seemed to be holding onto something that felt like ice. She turned her head towards the freezing temperature, opening her eyes in the process, to see a familiar mess of white hair lying on the bed beside her. The boy's hand was laced with hers, and he was sleeping peacefully for being in such a bent over position from his chair.

"Lyra, you're awake." Lyra turned her head towards a female voice to see a thin woman with long, curly hair hovering over her. She bit her lip as she desperately tried to remember who the woman above her was.

"Here." Lyra turned her attention to Lance standing behind the woman to see him holding a notepad and a pen. She sat up slowly, carefully letting go of Jack's hand as to not disturb him, and took the items from the blonde. He smiled reassuringly as she began to scribble down on the notepad.

**I can't remember things.**

"What kind of things?" Lance sat along the edge of her bed as she looked specifically at Carol standing beside her to the sleeping boy beside her. She frowned deeply as she looked at Jack. This was the boy that was in love with her. He had looked so lost when she stopped his attacks, and now he was merely lost in a peaceful dream. She wondered if Sandman had given him the dream or not.

"You can't remember me or Jack? Right?" Lyra nodded to the woman causing Carol to smile softly. "But you can remember some things, right?" Lyra nodded again before scribbling on the pad once more.

**I'm so sorry.**

"Oh, no need to apologize Lyra. The fact you have any memory at all is a miracle. In the condition you are in, and if you also consider how immortals barely retain human memories, it was expected that you would forget everything before you're rebirth. We'll work with you on it." Lyra smiled; tears of joy falling from the corners of her eyes at being accepted so quickly. She had been so terrified that everyone would hate her for not remembering, but here this woman was kindly accepting her and willing to work with her on the problem.

"Perhaps Tooth can trigger her memories?" Lance thought aloud before reaching over and ruffling Lyra's hair playfully. "I'll go talk to her about it. You rest up some more, okay? I'll drop by the kitchen and ask Brenna to bring you some soup. Oh, before I forget, Brenna is the new girl so you won't need to feel bad for not remembering her. You haven't met yet." Lance stood up and smiled at her one more time before slowly making his way out of the room. Lyra looked around the room to remember staying in here before her change. This was the room North had given her during her search for Aria's host.

**We're at the North Pole? What happened to the fight?**

"No need to worry. After you collapsed, Lance stepped in to protect you and Jack from Leon. Not too long after that Pitch showed up and caused a big scene. Sandy got pretty messed up, but everyone came home safe and sound after the idiots made their escape. Or, so they told me." Lyra nodded in understanding to the woman before turning her attention to the sleeping boy beside her. She reached out and gently brushed the hair out of his face before returning her hand to where he had so carefully been holding it before.

She couldn't remember if she was in love with him. She did, however, feel strong feelings for him. She could tell that just by looking at him. She wanted to see what kind of friendship they had. More than that, she wanted to remember everything about him. She unconsciously reached up and gripped the locket that rested against her chest. Carol watched her actions with a motherly smile before patting the girl on the head softly and exiting the room.

Lyra allowed the silence of the room to fill her ears as she stared out the window across from the bed. She started wondering what Manny had planned on using her for instead of the wind host. She had meant to ask before he sent her back to this world, but the thought had completely slipped her mind. It was something she would have to remember to ask on her next visit.

She started to twirl her newly colored hair around her fingers, glancing cautiously at the color, before a small frown crossed her lips. The feeling of not being in her own body filled her mind and she had to push the shudder away that threatened to swim across her skin.

"You're beautiful." A sharp intake of air from Lyra was enough to make a small smile crossed the winter spirit's thin, pale lips. He slowly sat up, careful to not remove his hand from hers, and decided to get a full view of how the change into immortality had effected her. She felt naked under his curious gaze and turned her eyes away from him earning her a small chuckle from the boy.

"There's no need to be worried Lyra. I love the way you look. Don't be so self conscious, okay? You look perfect." Lyra slowly looked up to gaze into the crystal blue orbs that were watching her. How could he see how she felt about her new body when she hadn't said a word? Was he really that tuned into her thought that he could read her like a book? Were they really that close before hand? She watched as a small frown crossed his lips. He reached his free hand up and gently rubbed his thumb across her cheek. She shivered slightly from his cool touch.

"You can't remember me, can you?" His voice sounded so in pain as he asked the very question she dreaded. Lyra couldn't tell if it sounded painful because the thought of her not remembering was painful for him, or if it was because she imagined the tone due to her own guilt for having to answer him honestly. She lowered her eyes to the bed and slowly started pulling her hand away from his. He gripped her hand tighter, pulling it up to his face, and kissing her knuckles softly before a gentle smile crossed his lips.

"I went three hundred years without my memories. I won't let you be alone without yours. We'll work together, but you have to trust me. Deal?" Lyra smiled softly and nodded in understanding before leaning over and hugging the boy tightly. He laughed softly and wrapped his arms around her as well, before whispering the two words Lyra needed to know he understood what she wanted to say.

"You're welcome."

* * *

**I'm glad to finally have Lyra and Jack together and not mentally messed up *sighs in relief* It took me literally 3 hours to try and get this chapter uploaded, so here ya go! We begin the recovery of Lyra and the search to figure out how to finally stop Pitch and Leon. We better hurry too, since it's only a matter of time before the Guardians lose all of their powers. Not to mention Jack has to help Lyra 'remember' *wink* XD Thank you everyone, and just know I am feeling better from my last chapter(which I feel ended up being horrible).**

**-F.W.**


	25. Chapter 25: What's the plan?

Five days had passed since Jack told Lyra he would stay by her side until her memories came back. Lyra had been thankful that those around her were so willing to accept her mental state and help her through it that even if she had the ability to talk she wouldn't have known how to express her feelings. Since that time Lyra had a few brief memories return to her. She finally realized who Carol was, and along the way remembered who Bunnymund was as well. He had huffed when he found out she couldn't remember him but she could remember the others. She recalled him mumbling something along the lines of 'I'm cooler than these show ponies.' He had been kind to her regardless of his muttering. Her memories of Jack, however, were the things she desired more than anything. They were also the memories that avoided her.

Saddened by her inability to remember things clearly, Lyra decided to best thing to do was to occupy her mind with the task she had been given by Aria. _Aeterna Somnum_. She was to figure out what this was and use it to stop Leon from harming anyone else. So, in order to try and locate the answers she currently needed, she locked herself up in Carol's library searching for what _Aeterna Somnum_ could possibly be. Was it a spell or a weapon? Aria had said she wasn't strong enough to use it in her current state. Did that mean that maybe one of the others could use it instead?

Lyra sighed heavily as she closed another book and set it in the 'searched' pile she had set up on the desk beside her. She was still extremely weak, having to take naps every few hours to replenish her energy, and therefore she only made one trip around the library and grabbed as many books as she could before settling down to read through them. Carol had asked her what she was looking for, but being unable to spell it correctly she didn't want to risk writing it down and finding the wrong thing. Carol understood and had asked her to try and spell it, but around that time Brenna had needed help with something at home and Carol had left the library to her until she returned.

Jack hadn't been very far from Lyra since he found her alive. He would often lay around in the library and look at random books, or would be hovering just outside the door as to give Lyra sometime to herself. He was afraid of being to close to her all the time since he didn't want to push himself on her. At the same time, however, he was so scared she would disappear from him again he wouldn't go very far from the room she was in. Lyra didn't really mind, him being around feeling natural to her, and she also prayed that him being near her so much might trigger the memories.

Jack had been the only one in the group that was potentially unharmed from the fight in Romania. Bunny had to rest his foot up for a couple of days from a twisted ankle. Brenna had to get stitches along her right arm from a nice slice of Pitch's scythe. North had bandages around his head and a purple eye from being punched in the face and falling backwards to hit his head on a large rock. Carol was shocked to know the rock had managed to knock her husband out complaining with: 'How in the world did that happen? Your head is harder than the rock!'. Tooth had a nice bite on one of her wings from a nightmare, but after a day or two of healing was up and flying again in no time. Lance's back had been 'burned' from a blast of gray matter from his brother while trying to protect Jack and Lyra after Lyra had collapsed. He was currently walking around without a shirt to try and let the skin heal properly. Lyra couldn't help but giggled when Brenna seemed a little awed by Lance when he walked by or spoke to her. This would usually cause Brenna to blush horrible and a small cloud to circle around her. Lyra didn't really understand what the cloud's purpose was, but she soon learned from Jack that Brenna's emotions controlled her powers. Brenna was sweet, and being as she didn't have to try and remember her, Lyra found herself growing quite attached to the new female of the group.

The one who had taken the most damage from the fight was Sandy. Lyra wasn't filled in on the details of what happened, but he currently had bandages around his head, his right arm was in a sling, and he had needed a blood transfusion when he returned to the North Pole. Lyra had no idea that immortals needed blood like humans did, but Jack reminded her that immortals were still human they just lived continuously. Luckily, Carol had a blood type collection that matched all of the Guardians-including her now-so Sandy was fixed up quick.

"Lyra." Lyra sat up straight in shock hearing her name softly called. She looked up at Jack leaning over her and smiling softly. Lyra realized after a moment of looking at the boy that she had drifted off to sleep again. She smiled nervously at the boy causing him to chuckle softly. "Sleepy again, huh? I'd drag you to bed, but we're actually needed in the Globe Room if you have the strength to go."

Jack held his hand out to her after she nodded that she was okay to go. She took it and allowed him to gently pull her to her feet. She felt her legs give out on her instantly, and he grinned to her as he swiftly caught her in his arms and kept her upright. Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment and before she could pull away to stand he lifted her into his arms bridal style and started carrying her out of the room. She flailed around in irritation, having had this happen more than once over the past few days, and started trying to wiggle out of his grip. He busted out laughing, loving how even though she had no memory of him she still threw a fit when he carried her, and pretended to start to drop her. She tensed up in fear and flung her arms around his neck to steady herself which caused him to smirk in triumph at getting the reaction he wanted.

"Sit still or I will let you fall." The glare he got from the girl was all he needed to start laughing again. She huffed in annoyance but allowed him to carry her; a soft smile gracing her lips.

They entered the globe room to see everyone standing around the globe looking worried. Brenna and Carol appeared to have returned home as well, and were off to the side discussing something that Lyra couldn't quite hear. Lance smirked when he saw Jack carrying Lyra in and winked at the already embarrassed girl; thus causing her to flush even more from people taking notice to her situation. She resisted the urge to toss her shoe at his head considering he was still in some pain from his back.

North turned to face them about the time Jack placed her in a cushioned seat they had moved close to the globe days ago for her. He smiled happily to her and briefly nodded at Jack before turning his attention towards the globe once more. Lyra looked up at the large spinning orb to feel her heart drop to her stomach. She raised a hand to cover her mouth as she took in just how bad things were looking.

"We're down to so few lights already?" Jack whispered and clenched the back of the chair she was sitting in. She reached over and took his free hand and squeezed it softly causing him to glance down at her. The hard look that she had seen in his eyes the night she protected Leon had returned, but the moment his eyes focused on her they softened and a soft smile crossed his thin lips. She felt a flutter in the pit of her stomach and forced herself to return to looking at the globe.

"We're down to at least forty lights. Occasionally a light will flicker back on and off, so there are children still struggling to believe out there. We're running out of time, though." Tooth sighed heavily causing Lance to rub her back in a soothing motion.

"We need plan!" North being ready for action was evident in his booming voice. Sandy in his bandaged form floated over to rest beside Lyra while the others turned their attention to North. North stood there for a moment before realizing everyone was looking to him for said plan. He tugged on his collar nervously before rubbing his hands together. "So, ideas?" It took everything everyone had to not hit their foreheads with their palms.

"Before we work on an attack plan we should evaluate what we have to work with. It's going to take a few more days for Sandy to be in fighting condition. Not to mention you all are already so weak with the lights going out so quickly." Carol started explaining just how serious their situation was before Brenna decided to step in.

"Let's all look at Lyra's situation as well. Carol's new outfit might be covering the marks, but she is still highly damaged and fragile at the moment." Lyra looked down at the turtle neck black sweater she was wearing, a pair of tight black gloves to cover up her hands, a pair of blue jeans with some white tennis shoes. She also had her blue sweater vest on over her sweater having remembered the first time Carol made it for her as her first memory of the woman. She was clinging to the items that caused triggers of memories for her.

"Have you figured anything about Lyra out yet?" Lyra knew Jack was eager for her to be back to normal. She could sense his distress about her situation just by the way he talked when it came to the subject. He was worried, but if he was worried about her breaking or disappearing Lyra wasn't sure. Perhaps it was both.

"Lyra is in a state of incompleteness. I know what you're thinking: what does that mean exactly? Well, to be honest, there's not much I can say about it. Given the fact that Manny really had no power that night I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Aria's powers are what saved her. Man in moon most likely used whatever strength he had to help the process occur, but that in turn is probably why she isn't completely immortal yet. He hasn't been able to complete the process." Lyra found it a little creepy how accurate Brenna's guesses were, but she started nodding her head to let them all know the girl was on the correct path. She heard Jack sigh beside her before his hand started ruffling her hair into a mess.

"How long before she is fixed?"

"That depends on how quickly Man in Moon can gain his strength back. We're on a time limit when it comes to her body. She should be fine as she is, but she's going to be weak for the duration of her being in this condition. She also shouldn't be able to really control her powers at the moment either. I imagine if she tries it will cause her to pass out, or worse. I think we should actually start working you into them slowly, Lyra. I was hoping you'd allow me to teach you how to control your powers." Lyra smiled and nodded. She had been curious as to if she had powers or not, and she was honestly eager to help everyone out with the fight.

"What are we going to do about her powering the Orb then?" Lyra looked to Lance curiously wondering what he meant by powering the orb. Brenna sighed heavily and leaned against a wall as the question fluttered around in her mind.

"At this rate the world is going to not only be at risk of nightmares, but natural disasters as well. I will have to speak to my sisters about what they think. I'm thinking we might have to put Lyra in even more risk than what she is at the moment." Jack was quick on his feet for denying that idea from occurring.

"Not a chance. She's already being targeted by Leon because of his sick obsession with someone that has died. We're not putting her in even more danger. Out of the question."

"Jack, it's either we tighten security and give the Orb for her personally to hold, or we continue to let the world fall apart beneath our feet. Which do you want?" Brenna stood up straight; fully prepared to verbally battle it out with the winter spirit. A small storm cloud started forming over her head threatening to start soaking the room around everyone. He glared at her darkly.

"I choose her safety over everyone else. I've lost her once, I'm not taking the risk again." Lyra sighed softly and grabbed Jack's arm; catching his attention enough that she could glare at him. He looked away and ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "I can't Lyra." She gripped her hand tighter on his arm causing him to look her in the eyes. The determined look she gave him reminded him of all the other times she had looked at him this way. She wasn't going to take no as an answer.

"You're entirely too stubborn. Putting everyone before yourself." She gave him an adorable grin before nodding to Brenna letting her know she was willing to take the risk.

"What will her holding the orb do?" Brenna tapped her chin in thought as she considered Lance's question. Meanwhile, Sandy signed Lyra a thumbs up earning a groan from Jack.

"Well, I believe if she is in possession of it then it can feed off of her with out her powering it. It will also require over eighty percent less power since she is a direct source. That will also help with her exhaustion levels. It should be a good way to balance everything. Though I'm not entirely sure it will work. I plan on speaking with my sisters about it tonight to see if they think it will work."

"So, we work on Lyra's powers and get world stabilized. Good start to plan!" Lyra smiled at North's eagerness to have some sort of game plan set up. She could tell he was getting restless with how everything was turning out, as well as upset over how long it was taking to win this war, so it was nice to see he was still as determined as ever to keep going forward. She frowned as she looked around at everyone around her in the room as a plan started forming in her head. She gently pulled on Jack's sleeve before making a writing motion with her hands to show she wanted a notepad and pen. He nodded to her before floating away, only to return a few moments later with said items, and she set to work on writing her ideas out on paper. This whole no voice thing was a real bother when it came to writing long speeches.

**We should split up into teams. If we all keep working on one thing then we're not going to get anywhere. I say one team should work on doing some research. Aria informed me there is a way to stop Leon without actually killing him.**

"I dunno, I think we should make sure he doesn't have the chance of ever doing this again." Jack muttered darkly under his breath causing Lyra to glare darkly at him. He met her glare with a dark look of his own while Sandy stood near them making symbols that looked like sparks and grinning like he was the new prankster of the group. Jack eventually gave in and sighed deeply before looking at the wall blankly. "He took you from me Lyra." Lyra started scribbling furiously on her notepad.

**I'm here now, so in the end he helped us. Aria loves him and I owe her my life. I will save him. **

"Well, when you put it like that." Lyra nodded in triumph at finally getting the stubborn winter spirit to give in to her demands.

"What did she mention to you that we can use?" Brenna was curious what Aria had found before her death. Brenna was always burying herself in books and therefore was interested in being on the research team. Lyra chewed her lip nervously before doing her best to spell out the words that Aria spoke to her. After a few tries of writing different spellings and Brenna saying the words out loud they finally found the correct words.

"_Aeterna Somnum? _Never heard of it. The language sounds like Latin. I'll be glad to look into this. Carol, would you like to join me on the hunt?" Carol smiled to the blue haired girl and nodded.

"I'll help you with your research. I'm in no condition to be fighting at the moment, so if I can still help in some way I'd feel better. I'll bring the books that Aria left at my house for us to look through as well." Carol smirked evilly when she noticed a small blush cross Brenna's cheeks. Lyra could already tell the woman was planning with her evil match making ways. Poor Lance and Brenna.

**We should also have some of us preventing the nightmares from taking anymore victims. We're running out of power at this point and we can't afford to loose anymore. The rest of us should work on waking the lost ones up. If we want to stop them not only do we need to fuel our power but we need to cut their power off.**

"I agree! I, Bunny, and Tooth shall stop future attacks!" Bunny nodded in agreement with North's statement and Tooth didn't seem to object either.

"Then that leaves Lyra, Sandy, and me to work on waking the kids up. Total piece of cake." The sarcasm from Jack caused Lyra to kick him in the shin. He yelped in shock and grabbed the injured area with a cute pout at Lyra. She shook her head at him before turning her attention to Sandy who looked lost in thought. He started forming a swirl of golden sand in his palms before sighing softly and allowing it to disappear.

If only they could find some sort of amplifier for Sandy's powers then maybe they would be able to wake up the children. She would have to talk to Manny and see what he thought.

"Well, Lyra, time for you to take a nap then we'll start working on our job. I think the best place to start is with Jamie. He's the one light on the globe that still struggles to stay on. Maybe he's the easiest one to try and reach." Lyra felt the wind leave her lungs as she stared up at Jack for mentioning the name Jamie.

'_Jamie was my very first believer! It was so cool how it happened! Here, let me tell you the story.' A hyper Jack smiled to her before sitting down on her kitchen counter and going to town at pulling everything out of her kitchen cabinets and putting it in various areas._

Lyra placed her hand over her mouth as tears began to fall down her cheeks. Another memory danced around her mind as the one in her kitchen faded into a white blur.

'_Jack, talk to me. What happened with Sandy?' His hands started shaking and Lyra placed her other hand on top of them to calm him down._

'_He's not waking up.'_

Her memories skipped a little ahead but she could still remember the in between of the two scenes that were prominent in her mind.

'_Jack, we're going to stop him.' He didn't respond. She sighed heavily before she crawled over beside him and wrapped her arms around his body similar to how her mother used to do to her when she would cry. He was trembling, but she knew it wasn't from the cold. She started running her fingers through his hair in a soothing motion._

Jack caressed Lyra's cheeks and started frantically asking her if she was okay. She grabbed his hands and held them tightly as she held strong to the memories that had just returned to her. She smiled happily to the boy causing him to stare at her even more confused than he originally was when she started crying.

"Lyra are you okay? Are you hurting? What can I do to help?" Lyra shook her head before pulling away from him and writing in big, bold letters on her notepad. She held it up to him and waited patiently for his reaction.

**I just had a memory of you.**

The smile Jack gave her put butterflies in her stomach and caused her heart beat the speed up. She could almost see the formation of tears in his eye lids, but he quickly blinked them away before leaning in and kissing her forehead softly.

"Thank you. Oh, thank you so much for remembering me." Lyra could hear the pain in his voice as he spoke. Little did Lyra know, that her loosing her memories of him made him feel like he had not too long ago. Her forgetting him made him remember the three hundred years he had gone without being seen. The years he had gone without having anyone to talk to. Her remembering, it was like having his first believer back all over again.

"All right love birds. Off to bed with her Jack. She needs to rest." Jack waved Lance off before lifting the girl into his arms and disappearing out of the room.

The whole walk to her room not once did Jack loose that boyish grin of his.

* * *

**Author's Note: Thank you to everyone for your continous support! Thank you to FleetPoco for her wonderful fanart she keeps creating. I hope this chapter was good and I believe we're getting closer to adding a point to the Guardian's side of the score board. Let's just hope Leon doesn't figure out what the Guardians are planning or he'll fight for Lyra more than he already is. Not that Jack would let him win again ;D**


	26. Chapter 26: Telepathic Visit

Lyra took a deep breath in through her nose and slowly released it from her mouth Her eyes were closed, her back cramping from sitting in the straight up position she had been in for several hours now, and the ground beneath her the focus of her attention. She breathed in deeply and released it slowly once more, willing the area between her and the ground beneath her bottom to no longer be connected.

Brenna had left a day ago to go talk with her 'sisters' as she had called them. Before she had left she had instructed Lyra on a few mild exercises to try and get a feel for the power that was partially flowing through her body. She had been at it for most of her awake hours trying desperately to not be a weak spot for the Guardians. She knew she was vulnerable, and it killed her inside to know that she was still as weak as she had been when she was alive. So, when she wasn't attempting to help Carol with her research she made herself busy trying to become one with the wind and make her body float.

"_Breath in and out. Light as a feather stiff as a board? Focus Lyra, Focus. Imagine that you are one with the air. You are in Peter Pan and can fly! Breath in and out."_Lyra forced her thoughts to focus on trying to float.

"_Why is this so hard?" _

"Woah Lyra you're floating!" Lyra jerked in shock at the sound of Jack's voice appearing behind her thus causing her to lose concentration and tumble back to the ground. A wave of exhaustion hit her the moment she landed but a sense of accomplishment over powered her fatigue. She grinned up at the ceiling before allowing her self to fall onto her back and stretch out her half asleep body. Jack leaned over her with a playful grin across his lips.

"Nice going! You were at least an inch or two off the ground. You didn't even notice it, did you?" Lyra smiled up to the winter spirit before shaking her head signaling that she didn't have a clue she had actually been off the ground. Jack chuckled softly before setting his staff down and joining her in lying on the floor.

"Brenna should be back soon. I imagine she'll probably have the Orb with her. Are you sure about this? We're already at risk with taking you away from the North Pole." Lyra reached over and lightly patted Jack's hand in reassurance. Before she could pull her hand away, however, Jack quickly latched onto it and laced their fingers together. They laid there in silence for a moment enjoying each other's company before a sigh finally escaped the winter spirit's thin lips.

"I'm going to fix this Lyra." Lyra blinked curiously before turning her head to stare at the boy beside her. He looked lost in thought, a deep scowl etched into his face, and dark circles under his eyes. He had been resting better since Lyra returned, but the guilt inside his heart was still far to strong to allow him a decent nights sleep. He would wake during the middle of the night and check on Lyra constantly. Lyra had realized what was happening after having woken up herself and hearing him fumble with the door once or twice. She smiled softly and reached over to run a finger across his cheek bone.

"For letting them get this strong. For letting them hurt you. For letting them attack my family. I'm going to fix this. I'm going to make them pay." Lyra rolled her eyes at the boys speech before flicking him softly on the nose. He yelped in surprise and pulled away from her before playfully glaring at her. "What was that for?"

"_For you being so overly dramatic." _Lyra thought to herself as she shrugged her response to Jack. The whole not being able to talk thing was a disadvantage but there were times she was thankful she wasn't able to speak. Sometimes speaking could really get a girl in trouble.

Jack huffed before a soft smile graced his lips. Jack opened his mouth like he was going to say something before a thoughtful look crossed his features and he slowly closed it. Lyra raised an eyebrow, curious as to what the boy was thinking, when the door behind them opened and Brenna's blue head peeked inside. She gave them a cheeky grin before walking over to them and flopping down onto the ground near them. Jack pulled his hand away with reluctance and Lyra struggled to push herself into a sitting position. Her exhausted muscles screamed at her in annoyance for moving, but she pushed the thought to the back of her mind as Brenna pulled out a round object wrapped in silk cloth.

"I spoke with my sisters and they seemed to agree with my thoughts on you holding onto the orb for now. Also, they send their welcomes for joining our family." Lyra smiled nervously before focusing her attention onto the silk cloth before her. Brenna pulled the cloth off to reveal a glass orb the size of a crystal ball. It was a clear glass and looked to be extremely fragile. Lyra resisted the urge to ask Brenna to keep the orb as fear of dropping it flooded her mind. In the center of the orb was an ever changing color of smoke. The smoke was constantly dancing in strange intricate ways that made her want to watch it for hours.

"Don't worry too much about breaking it or anything. The orb is pretty sturdy and won't break from normal everyday things. The only thing that can break it is forcefully focusing your magic to destroy it. There's several charms placed on it so it would take someone with a good amount of magic power to break it." Lyra sighed in relief as the ever calculating girl answered her unasked question. "Well, go on. It's yours for the time being."

"Man, Lyra, you're always having to look after something these days. First Aria's spirit, now the orb. You're just getting all kinds of short ends of the stick, don't you think?" Lyra scowled at Jack's comment before reaching out and carefully touching the glass ornament. The smoke inside fluttered in excitement as it took on a grayish-blue form and started spinning in the shape of a mini tornado inside the orb. Lyra smiled happily as she took the orb and held it up to better watch the dancing tornado in the center.

"Well that's a good sign. That means it's accepting you're spirit. Guess we have one less thing to worry about. If you start feeling more tired than usual, put the orb down for a little while. It should be safe to take breaks from it for an hour here or there. We want to make sure you don't push yourself too hard with your condition at the moment." Lyra nodded in understand before Brenna started clapping happily. "Oh this is just so exciting! I feel like we're getting somewhere even though nothing has changed."

"Don't get all over-joyed so soon. We've got a lot of work ahead of us." Brenna rolled her eyes at the winter spirit before pouting at him.

"Am I not allowed to be happy over the little things? I seem to remember someone grinning up a storm when a certain someone remembered them. The little things Jack." Jack's pale face was covered in a pink hue as he turned his head away from the woman beside him.

"That's not the same thing! It's completely different."

"Mmhmm. So says you." Brenna childishly stuck her tongue out at the boy as he gave her a blank stare.

"Keep it up Brenna and I'll suddenly make sure all your rain storms are actually sleet storms." A dark cloud started forming over Brenna as she stared darkly at the boy in front of her. A dark smirk crossed Jack's lips as the spark of mischief once again returned to his blue eyes. Lyra sighed heavily, rolled her eyes, and managed to stand up after a moment of willing herself to get up. She waved to both of them signaling she was heading out before making her way to the door. She needed to sleep, the floating incident from earlier had been amazing, but she was absolutely exhausted now. The temperature drop and humidity forming in the room made her stomach a little queasy on top of that. The two bickering teens half waved to her as the verbal war between them began. About the time a storm actually begun in the room Lyra had pulled the door shut and started walking down the hall.

Half way to her room a small hum started fluttering through her mind causing her to feel nauseated. It was a sudden headache, catching her completely off guard, and was bad enough that she had to stop walking and grab her forehead to steady her vision.

"**Aria. Why are you so mad at me Aria?"** Lyra gasped in pure shock as a familiar voice echoed through her mind. She looked around the hallway her terrified that Leon had somehow found his way into the Pole after all. After not seeing him anywhere in sight she leaned back against the wall and waited to see if anything would move.

"_Where are you?" _Lyra thought to herself as she tried desperately to calm her racing heart beat. She felt like it was beating so loudly in her chest that the enemy could hear it and find her.

"**I'm waiting for you to come home Aria. That's where I am. Why are you so mad at me? What did I do that has caused such hatred?"** Lyra swallowed loudly as a another memory flutter through her mind. The time that Lance's hand had been resting on her head while his brother made contact. Lance's grip on the telepathic conversation had been weak so she had been pulled into it as well. Did this mean that Leon was able to connect to her in the same way now?

"_I thought you loved hatred." _She figured it was worth a try to see if he was hearing her answer him back. After all, the only person she had been able to actually communicate with lately was Manny. Besides, maybe she could get some kind of clues as to how to free the children this way.

"**I think it tastes wonderful. From everyone but you my love. It hurts when it comes from you." **Guess that answered Lyra's question on if he could hear her or not. Lyra considered trying to explain to the delusional man that she wasn't Aria, but a fluttering familiar feeling in the her chest told her that Aria thought she should do otherwise. Leon wouldn't give answers to Lyra. Leon would give answers to Aria.

"_You had me killed. Not once but nearly twice. Why else do you think I would be upset with you?" _An angry huff echoed through her mind before the man went on the defensive.

"**I didn't have you killed. You were supposed to be convinced to free me. Do you have any idea how furious I was when I found out he killed you? You shouldn't be upset, my love. I will deal with him soon for the actions he took. I merely needed him, a pawn you could say. The second time you weren't supposed to be harmed. Just that pathetic creature that was keeping you from me. I suppose that girl was useful in the end. She gave you new life."** Lyra rolled her eyes as she rubbed her forehead trying to ease the headache that was gaining in intensity. How dare he call her useless. She thought she was pretty damn awesome in her opinion.

"_What are you trying to do Leon? What is it you want?" _Lyra slid down to the floor and rested where she was feeling her exhaustion beginning to pulled her into unconsciousness. A dark chuckle entered her mind before words that struck deep in her heart where a part of Aria was resting.

"**I want to end the pain Aria. I want the pain to go away." **He sounded broken, like a lost boy trying to find his way home. Lyra felt tears forming in the back of her eyes, a reaction from Aria's end, and she forced herself to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat.

He sounded so human. He sounded like he was crying out for help. Begging for someone to save him.

He sounded like the Leon from Aria's memories. Before the hatred took over his mind.

"_Oh Leon. We can find a way to do that. But you have to stop. Stop hurting people, stop fighting the Guardians. Let's find a way. Together."_

"**I can't. I've found a way to end the pain Aria. The only way to end it is to make the people who caused my pain feel what they have caused. The only way to get rid of the pain is to get rid of those who fill me with such pain."** He went silent for a long moment before his voice darkened drastically causing Lyra to feel like she was suddenly in danger.

"**I will destroy everything. With the very thing you hold in your hands."** Lyra looked down at the orb that was half resting in her lap as the throbbing in her head suddenly disappeared and the presence of Leon completely disappeared. Anxiety filled her body causing her hands to shake. Her breathing started becoming erratic, her chest feeling tighter than it probably should, and her stomach was turning in knots to the point she was sure she was going to throw up.

She was scared. Scared for what Leon might do. Scared for those that would be hurt because of him.

Her strongest fear, however, was her fear that Leon was lost. A fear she was sure wasn't fully her own.

She heard foot steps approaching her and she tried desperately to get a hold of herself and calm down. Lance came around the corner sooner than she had hoped and she jumped to her feet in a blind panic. He body was reacting on it's own; the adrenaline rush in her veins in addition to her current panic attack causing her to move without thinking. Lance looked at her worried before reaching a hand out to her to try and calm her down. He yanked his hand back as a sudden wind circled around the girl is a protective cocoon.

"Lyra! Lyra calm down. What's going on? What happened? Please calm down that's too much magic-" About the time Lance said magic the swirling wind disappeared and Lyra collapsed to the ground unconscious. Lance hurried to her side and lifted her up into his arms to look over her. He frowned deeply when he found nothing wrong.

"What in the hell just happened?"

* * *

**Author's Note: Hey guys! I want to apologize for the delay and shortness of this chapter. I haven't forgotten about you I swear! I've been really sick lately and struggling with the doctors on what's wrong with me. That and will all the block buster movie releases we've had coming out when I'm not at the doctor's I'm at work. Forgive me!**

**I haven't give up on this. This chapter is short and for the most part uneventful. I gave a little insight to Leon's reasoning, which means you probably might understand where his thoughts are. I plan on doing a little better with the next chapter but please be patient with me. **

**On a better note! FleetPoco and friends are doing a movie for this! I'm simply awed that people love my story THAT much! You guys are the best and I love you for it! Everyone should check out the page for it, it'll be listed on my profile! So amazing *-***


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